Steering oman’s global trade revival With its Strategic Location, Advanced Infrastructure, and Plenty of Incentives for Doing Business, it’s No Wonder Sohar Port and Freezone is at the Peak of Oman’s Current Trade Revival
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ositioned right at the crossroads between Europe and the Far East, Oman has long been a global centre for trade, dating back thousands of years. With its stable economy, strong infrastructure and peaceful and tolerant culture, it might be one of the lesser-known countries of the region, but provides an extremely favourable climate for those wishing to do business, not to mention its incredible touristic appeal. As set out in the Oman 2040 Vision, the country is actively seeking foreign direct investment, particularly in high value-added and non-oil sectors, and is in the process of improving the regulatory framework to encourage such investments. Its new Foreign Capital Investment Law came into force in January 2020; a highly significant legislative development that removes most legal restrictions on the foreign ownership of Omani companies. Having jumped ten places in the Ease of Doing Business 2020 report, Oman now ranks at the top in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in the cross-border trade index, a positioning that is in no small way supported by SOHAR Port and Freezone. The logistics behemoth is on a journey to revive Oman’s standing as an international trade hub.
AN AWARD-WINNING PORT Established in 2004 as a joint venture between the Omani government and the Port of Rotterdam, SOHAR Port and Freezone is not only one of Oman’s mega-projects, but is also one of the fastest-growing complexes of its kind in the world and a major industrial hub. Today, with 26 europeanbusinessmagazine.com
seven out of 10 products that Oman buys or consumes coming through SOHAR, it serves as the main gateway for import and export and contributes 2.8% of the country’s GDP. With a focus on sustainability and cutting-edge technology, it is leading the development and modernization of the country’s logistics infrastructure, while offering unrivalled access to key markets in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas, as well as across the Middle East. Facing the Arabian Sea and with direct access to the Indian Ocean, the world’s largest ships are able to dock without having to navigate the Strait of Hormuz, the only waterway between the Persian Gulf and open ocean where one-third of the world’s liquefied natural gas and 25% of total global oil consumption passes through. SOHAR’s rise to prominence over the last 18 years has no doubt been impressive. Since the Freezone was added in 2010, the complex has grown to 21 million square metres – all fully leased ahead of schedule – with a further 2.5 million square metres currently being added and even more space primed for development at a later stage. The efforts to optimise every step of the process has been recognised within the industry. SOHAR has been a frequent winner at fDi Magazine’s annual Free Zone of the Year awards, including taking the ‘New Investments Award’ and commendations for Infrastructure Improvements and Energy Independence in previous years. SOHAR was also named the world’s best dry bulk port in 2018 at the IBJ Awards and the annual index 2020 released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development named
Oman’s ports as the world’s fastest in container ship handling. Meanwhile, during a period of global uncertainty, the Port has continued to operate at full capacity throughout and welcome new tenants to the Freezone, as well as seeing throughput grow quarter on quarter, year versus year.
A FLOURISHING FREEZONE Conveniently connected to the Port via a bonded transport corridor, the Freezone offers sector-specific zones and clusters, and integrated, bespoke logistics solutions across
