Dutch-Omani co-operation is one of the underlying themes for MEED’s Port of Sohar conference, to be held in Muscat on November 15 – 16.
The port is managed by Sohar Industrial Port Company (SIPC), in a joint venture between the Oman government and the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
The conference is being held under the patronage of HE Maqbool Bin Ali Sultan, Minister of Economy and Commerce and will feature a keynote address from the Netherlands’ Prime Minister Dr Jan Peter Balkenende. More than 200 delegates will discuss upcoming tenders, existing projects and areas for development in the Port.
The successful case study of the Port of Rotterdam will be highlighted at the event. The port currently offers direct employment to around 60,000 people in Rotterdam as well as to an additional 250,000 people in the rest of the country.
Conference chairman Edmund O’Sullivan said: “In its 750-year history, the Port of Rotterdam has managed to diversify its operations and evolve with technological developments. Now, the direct gross added value of the port and industrial area is $7.5 billion – almost 2 per cent of the Dutch GNP.”
Nearly 300 million tons of goods pass through Rotterdam every year, along with 30,000 ocean-going vessels and 150,000 river boats. With 44 percent of Northwest Europe's goods traversing its harbours, the port is the main artery for this region.
Sohar Industrial Port is situated in the Al-Batinah region in Oman. The industrial port has been developed alongside the government’s platform for growth, the Oman Vision 2020. The plan highlights the need for the diversification of the Oman economy, greater involvement of the private sector, and a balanced development of the various regions in Oman.
Port of Sohar, Oman – Anchoring Success, one of MEED’s headline conferences, will be held at the Al Bustan Palace InterContinental, on November 15 - 16. Already confirmed as sponsors are Oman Telecommunications Company (Omantel); A’Sharqiya Investment Holding Company; Oman Arab Bank; The Consolidated Contractors Group; Dow Chemical Company; Gulf International Bank (GIB); Kuwait Privatisation Project Holding Company; Oman Petrochemicals Industries Company LLC; .
MEED Conferences is part of the leading information brand in the Middle East working to provide delegates with the very latest business sensitive information. Over the past 10 years, MEED Conferences has organised events attended by senior government officials and thousands of international business people. The conference series is aimed at companies active or seeking business in the markets of the Middle East. MEED is well established as the source of strategic and accurate regional information placing it in a unique position to bring together high-calibre speakers.
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About Port of Rotterdam
Rotterdam started out as a small village on the River Rotte. Around 1250, Around 1600, the port was able to accommodate as many as 100 herring ships. Merchant ships sailed from Rotterdam to South America and the Dutch East Indies and back.
In the nineteenth century, the age of the Industrial Revolution, Ships were increasingly made of steel instead of wood, steamers replaced sailing ships At the end of the nineteenth century, people all over the world started to discover the importance of petroleum, for example for the production of gasoline. In World War II, roughly forty percent of the port was destroyed.
Following the war, a lot of energy was invested in the reconstruction of the flattened port. Soon, the port was doing so well, that there was not enough room to accommodate all the companies and ships. Petroleum increasingly became more important to the economy after World War II.
Shipbuilding yards constructed vast tankers for the transport of oil, which were also called mammoth tankers. Due to their drafts, these vessels could however not enter the existing harbour basins. The construction of the Europoort meant that Rotterdam retained its accessibility.
The ports in the Europoort have a depth of more than twenty meters. Various companies also established themselves in the Europoort. Until there was no more space and the sea was reached. In order to expand, the decision was made to create land in the sea. For this, a section of the sea was fenced off, the water was drained and the enclosure was raised by spouting up sand. In 1973, the first ship moored at a company at the Maasvlakte
