Consortium Antwerp Port (CAP) has successfully closed a 28-year concession agreement to operate, develop and manage the Port of Duqm and its industrial land.
The agreement was signed between CAP, a joint venture between Rent A Port (RAP) and Port of Antwerp International (PAI), and the Sultanate of Oman in the presence of HRH Princess Astrid of Belgium.
Back in June 2009, the two parties signed their first deal for Duqm port. At the time, the development of the Port of Duqm was not yet completed and CAP controlled and supervised the final infrastructure works done by the Consortium C.C.C. /STFA and Jan De Nul (Belgium). These were finalised in 2012 and are an example of top engineering.
This was the basis for the establishment of the Port of Duqm Company (PDC), a 50-50 Belgian-Omani joint venture between CAP and the Sultanate of Oman. With this agreement PDC has the overall responsibility for the further development, management and commercialisation of the Duqm Port facilities, including the industrial land zone.
As an active landlord, PDC will also provide training of port employees (dockers, pilots, management), develop global marketing initiatives and establish Duqm as a petrochemical key hub in the region with a focus on the Middle-East, Indian and West African market.
CAP’s goal is to develop general port activities with special emphasis on oil and gas. The involvement of Antwerp based companies in the development of the port of Duqm will also improve the position of Antwerp as the main gateway for petrochemicals from the Middle East.
Situated on the southeastern seaboard of the Sultanate of Oman, overlooking the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean beyond, Port of Duqm is fast becoming an important reality of the Middle East region’s rapidly transforming maritime landscape. With its deep draft, lengthy quay walls, and expansive basin, Port of Duqm has the trappings of a world-class, multipurpose commercial gateway.
[mappress] portofantwerp, March 21, 2014