Oman’s Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones (OPAZ) represented by the Special Economic Zone at Duqm (SEZAD) has awarded the tender for the development, management and operation of a multipurpose fishing port and the related projects in Duqm to a strategic alliance of Omani and international companies.

The winning alliance is led by Fisheries Development Oman (FDO), a state-owned group supervised by Oman Investment Fund. Together with FDO, the alliance includes Al Wusta Fisheries Co, Oman Food Investment Holding Co, Oman Fisheries Co and Port of Duqm along with Lorient KeromanSEM which manages one of the major fishing ports in Europe.

The companies will invest RO50mn to develop, manage and operate the multipurpose fishing port in SEZAD, with the potential of expanding the facilities and services to include several operational and services aspects, according to a press statement issued by OPAZ on Sunday.

The agreement stipulates that the winning alliance pays 15 per cent of the annual net profits to OPAZ for the management and operation of the port starting from the beginning of the third year from signing the agreement.

The alliance shall also commit to include all related contracts signed in the future a provision for assigning 10 per cent of the works to SMEs and commit to Omanisation percentage as set forth in the laws of the Ministry of Labour and the regulation of the SEZAD.

The multipurpose fishing port is 10m deep and works are currently progressing to connect it to the road network and services facilities. It also includes the main breakwater which is 2.2km long and the secondary breakwater which is 1.1km long and the total lengths of the jetties are around 1.2km long, while the area allocated for the services facilities is 248,931 sqm. The port is also equipped with a tourism berth, stretching over 75,000 sqm that will provide its services for tourism ships within the plan of the projects.

As for the facilities complementing the multipurpose fishing port, it includes a fisheries and food processing complex connected to the main road and internal roads, which are 5.2km long. The port will shortly provide its services to local fishermen, commercial fishing ships, livestock ships and ships designated for transporting foodstuff in addition to some tourism facilities and other services facilities.

The multipurpose fishing port is one of the key projects of the Special Economic Zone at Duqm that seeks to enhance the zone’s capacity to take advantage of the fisheries available in the zone and the surrounding areas and utilise the distinctive location of Duqm in general at the Arabian Sea.

The fisheries complex of the port will further enhance the use of Duqm Airport’s services through the air fright terminal, promote re-export sector, create job opportunities and contribute in activating fisheries sector in the sultanate with the objective of diversifying the economy and enhancing food safety.