Business news

17 Dec 2024

Belarus hopes to use SOHAR port and freezone for joint projects with Oman

OMAN, 17 December (BelTA) - Belarus hopes to use SOHAR port and freezone for joint projects with Oman, Belarusian Industry Minister Aleksandr Yefimov told the media, BelTA learned.

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko and members of the Belarusian delegation toured SOHAR port and freezone.

“The purpose of the visit to SOHAR port and freezone is to select a site for joint ventures and the project to establish a hub of Belarusian industrial goods in the Sultanate of Oman in order to promote our goods to the markets of third countries,” the minister said.

He noted that the port is attractive in terms of logistics. “That's the way it has been historically. It remains so to this day. Therefore, taking into account its logistical position, we would be interested to have our industrial hub in this port. We are mainly considering the freezone sites for future joint ventures,” Aleksandr Yefimov said.

According to the minister, the list of goods that can be produced in Oman is quite extensive. “These are the goods for domestic goods. They need agricultural goods, tractors, everything related to this: trailed, mounted equipment, utilities, road-building equipment,” he said. “Goods that can be redirected to the markets of third countries have a great potential. In this respect the list is even more extensive. This is quarry and cargo trucks, everything related to logistics infrastructure. We are ready to offer our technologies and goods to our Omani partners for sale on their territory.”

SOHAR Port was built in 2002 and is located southeast of the Strait of Hormuz, on the Gulf of Oman. It handles more than 1 million tonnes of sea cargo per week and about 3,500 vessels per year.

SOHAR Freezone was established in 2010 next to the port.

The deep-water port and the adjacent freezone are located in the administrative center of Al Batinah North Governorate, halfway between the cities of Dubai (UAE) and Muscat (Oman). They occupy the territory of 45 square kilometers. SOHAR Freezone is one of four special economic zones on the territory of Oman, in addition to Salalah Free Zone, Al Muzanah Free Zone on the border with Yemen, and Al Duqm City that also has the status of FEZ. SOHAR Port and Freezone is managed by SOHAR Industrial Port Company (SIPC) and is a joint venture between the Port of Rotterdam and the Sultanate of Oman.

Since its establishment, SOHAR Port and Freezone has attracted over $26 billion in investments and has become one of the most successful industrial zones in the Gulf region. It features the enterprises of petrochemical, logistics, plastics, metallurgy, mining, food and automotive industries.

The freezone offers convenient logistics, zero import and re-export duties, exemption from corporate income taxes for up to 25 years and no personal income tax. Products manufactured here receive a number of benefits under Oman's intergovernmental agreements.