Posted on January 14, 2016
Tenders were floated here yesterday for the construction of the Sultanate’s largest fishery harbour project at Duqm on the country’s Wusta coast. The facility is proposed to be integrated with a world-scale Industrial Fisheries Cluster envisaged as part of a mammoth Special Economic Zone (SEZ) under development at Duqm. Total investment in the harbour project, as well as support infrastructure underpinning the Industrial Fisheries Cluster, is estimated at around $260 million (RO 100 million).
On Sunday, the Special Economic Zone Authority at Duqm (SEZAD), which is overseeing the development of a giant industrial and maritime hub on the Sultanate’s southeastern cost, issued a tender for the execution of the marine infrastructure and associated road network linked to the development of the Duqm Fishery Harbour. A separate tender floated by the Authority also invited bids for supervision services during the construction phase of the project.
A substantial package of works awaits the successful bidder, say officials. Aside from dredging and reclamation, the contract also includes the construction of breakwaters, quay walls and concrete floating pontoons with berthing facilities. Roads leading to the harbour facility are envisioned as well.
As with all fishery related infrastructure in the Sultanate, development of the Duqm Fish Harbour Project as well as the adjoining Industrial Fisheries Cluster will be financed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries.
Plans drawn up by the Ministry envisage a large facility with a pair of breakwater arms extending to a total length of almost 3.5 kilometres. A key component of the project is a 400-metre-long quay wall (200 metres in the alternative option), built with precast concrete blocks. A boat ramp will also be constructed to haul out boats for repairs and maintenance.
The adjacent Industrial Fisheries Cluster will be designed to attract investments in processing plants, cold stores, training centres, and quality testing laboratories. As many as 60 processing plants can be housed within the fisheries hub in the initial phases of its development.
In a presentation to investors not long ago, Fisheries Under-Secretary Dr Hamed bin Said al Oufi stressed the fishery hub’s importance to the government’s strategy to support the growth of a sustainable fisheries sector in the Sultanate. The strategy, he explained, is designed to maximise socioeconomic returns to Omanis engaged in the country’s fisheries sector, strengthen food security, generate jobs for nationals, and facilitate the introduction of technology and innovation in the industry.
The Duqm Industrial Fisheries Zone, according to the official, is a unique opportunity for Oman to bring about a sea-change in the contribution of the fisheries sector to the national economy. The project is proposed to be modelled on the cluster concept which will allow for the hub to grow exponentially, he said.
