Diplomatic World_69

There is the heavy industry which sits on the left side of the port,
am thinking we may be able to attract some companies that are
towards the North side, that is where the refineries and petro-
in the fields of data mining and digital storage. And Duqm has
chemical industries sit, connected by pipes to the port.
relatively cool temperatures throughout the year, which means
one does not necessitate air conditioning to cool the equip-
The tourist area in Duqm sits alongside an 18-kilometre stretch
ment. Temperatures in Duqm are usually in the range of 20 to 28
of beach, segregated from the port by a high mountain. So when
degrees Celsius, rarely crossing the 30 degree mark during the
you sit in the hotels, you do not see the cranes of the port. The
hottest months. So we would hope that this will attract some IT
area is isolated from the operations of the port, with zero interfer-
companies involved in providing cloud solutions for big compa-
ence. The business and residential district is located, by design,
nies in this part of the world to come and establish themselves.
away from the refinery and away from the port.
To our Belgian readership, I would like to highlight that we
Then there is the green zone, which I mentioned earlier. It is
need to be more connected to the business community around
located in a very flat plateau facing the ocean, with wind speeds
Antwerp. Now we have a ready port. Their Majesties the King
great partner in that. We have reserved 150 square km for them.
I must emphasise that our port is one of the few in the Indian
going up to 30 knots many times. It is therefore ideal for wind
and Queen of Belgium came in February to the inauguration
This will allow them to produce considerable amounts of electric-
Ocean which has a combination of civilian and maritime defence
and solar power generation. It is in this area that DEME’s project
and I think there has been a growing interest as a result of this
ity from renewable sources and be able to export it to the world
activities. The biggest aircraft carriers in the Indian Ocean have
is ongoing.
visit. So we would like to go back to follow up on some of these
through the port of Duqm.
very few places to call for, and Duqm is one of them because
business contacts that we have seen during that time to make
of the size and the depth of the entry channel to the port of
There is a one parcel which we call the Artificial Intelligence
sure that they keep interest in Oman and Duqm. I am confident
Another important factor about the port of Duqm is that it sits not
Duqm. The military logistics hub allows friendly nations that are
ground, not far away from the airport, even though it is almost
that some of the companies around the Port of Antwerp can help
far away from Ras Markaz, a crude oil storage terminal. Just fac-
patrolling the Indian Ocean to be able to change crew, change
a no-fly zone. This is where we are now testing drones, testing
the Port of Duqm – and the Special Economic Zone around the
ing Ras Markaz, there is one of the deepest oceanic plateaus of
spare parts, do maintenance and stay for a couple of days for the
them for wind resistance around the clock. This is gearing us up
port –develop further.
Oman, nearly 30 meters deep, and only six kilometres away from
benefit of their own men and women on board.
for future technologies like driverless cars or drones.
Ras Markaz. We have already fixed the six kilometre pipe into
the sea. We have already completed the major tanks. We already
Another important factor that probably would enhance the impor-
We are also seeing the capability of the Port of Duqm to connect
have the first buyer (Refinery of Duqm) and now we are negoti-
tance of the Port of Duqm over the years is related to minerals.
to the Port of Salalah, which is already at its maximum operation-
ating with many other traders to store the oil there. And there is
Because in the proximity of Port of Duqm, there are many miner-
al capacity of 4.5 million TEUs per year. So we are expecting that
already a connection between Ras Markaz and the area adjacent
als that are in high demand worldwide, including limestone and
the extra flow of cargo and trans shipment will come to this port
to Port of Duqm. The Port of Duqm can also play a big role in
gypsum at its finest, highest purity. Right now we are finalising
of Duqm, which is not far, from Salalah.
shipping jet fuel, which will be produced by the Duqm refinery.
the design of a 60-kilometre train that will facilitate the transfer of
We hope it will be on full production by the first quarter of 2023.
mineral resources to the port, allowing us to use green energy to
In recent years we have learnt how much location matters, more
fuel the train, thereby minimizing the impact on environment.
than ever, especially in the context of pandemics, conflicts, etc.
Another important advantage of Duqm over many ports in this
It makes no sense that you have only one location and your op-
part of the world is the dry dock. Last year, we processed around
By design of the Port of Duqm master-plan, the 2,000 square
erations is one place. So we are seeing now growing interest of
200 ships in the dry dock of Duqm. And soon, a floating dry dock
kilometre area of land is segregated into seven very clearly de-
companies that want to have facilities for storage (including food)
will be incorporated, which will allow us to increase the capacity
fined parcels.
and warehousing.
from 200 to 240 ships. And this shows you the magnitude of the
possibilities there.
We are also facing challenges in terms of availability of energy. I
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