With New Rail Network, Sohar Aims to be the ‘Gateway to the GCC’

In the face of dwindling oil reserves, Oman is aiming at being a logistics hub for the GCC. The new railway network, that begins construction in the next 12 months, will be of core importance to this plan.

Omani authorities and businesses are aggressively expanding Sohar Port in an attempt to make it competitive with other ports in the GCC. The container port has been moved and expanded to eventually have a capacity of 1.5 million TEU’s from 800,000. By 2017 it is expected to further expand to a capacity of 4 million TEU’s.

Containers depend on being able to move out of a port over land through as efficient a system as possible. The new Oman Railway Network will significantly improve the port’s ability to send containers out across the region. Sohar is also on the outside of the Straits of Hormuz, which Iran has threatened to close several times. The new railway network will provide a secure port of entry without ships having to traverse the Straits.

All business has risks involved. Sohar is up against far more established ports in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Whether these plans help Oman survive the end of its oil reserves is something to be seen.