Oman’s Salalah port is preparing for new port handling equipment. This will include four super post- panamax gantry cranes for its two new 18m depth berths.
The new cranes will complement the current 17 and increase the port’s capacity significantly. These cranes can operate the largest vessels in the world with their ability to reach containers stacked 23 across on deck. The investment will also include four mobile harbour cranes, 10 new spreaders that allow twin pick capability and 11 additional rubber-tyred- gantry cranes.
Gary Lemke CEO of Port of Salalah said “Since its inception The Port of Salalah has always strived to be an industry leader in innovation and port development. To ensure continued success we must make necessary long-term investments. Our business growth makes it important for us to increase available capacity in order to maintain our consistently high-quality service to our customers as our throughput continues to increase”.
With the opening of the 5th deepwater berth in May last year and the recent completion of berth six, the port project that the annual throughput will increase by about a third on delivery of the new equipment.
Elsewhere in the region, Dubai-based container-port operator DP World has been rated ‘buy’ in new coverage at Citigroup Inc, which cited the firm’s ‘growth and rising returns from a global platform’, according to a Bloomberg report.