Muscat – The Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology (MTCIT) has invited local and international companies to bid for operation, management and development of services at Port Sultan Qaboos.

The initiative comes within the context of a comprehensive system to develop ports in Oman undertaken by the ministry to boost investments in the sultanate.

According to the ministry, the last date for submission of bids is April 9, 2023.

Among the four tenders floated, the first one is for operation, management and development of ‘Ship Services Activity’, which include providing ships with foodstuffs and water, besides the cleaning operations.

The second one is for operation, management and development of ‘crew change’ or replacing of ship crews at the port, while the third one is for ship repair activity in the mooring areas.

The fourth tender has been floated for operation, management and development of a luxury yacht berthing.

The ministry seeks to increase the country’s capacity to manage higher number of ships and volume of goods.

It has taken steps to develop various ports with berths for raw materials and mined items. It recently gave an initial approval to Oman Minerals Development Company to construct the Shuwaimiya Mining Port in Dhofar, while it is currently overseeing construction of a berth for raw materials in Shinas port.

The development of Shinas port is 85 per cent complete and the ministry expects the construction to be complete by the first quarter of 2023.

The ports in Oman, including the Sultan Qaboos port will also see an increased activity with the start of the cruise season.

The winter cruise tourism season (2022-23) for Muscat began with the arrival of Mein Schiff 6 at the Port Sultan Qaboos on October 28, bringing more than 2,100 tourists to the city. According to the ministry, 99 cruise ships visited the sultanate in the 2021-22 season.