MUSCAT: Port of Salalah, the Sultanate’s premier transhipment and logistics hub on the Indian Ocean, is collaborating with Oman Rail in the establishment of new infrastructure designed to suitably integrate the seaport with the proposed national and GCC rail networks.
Plans drawn up by the port authority in conjunction with the national rail company envisage investments in new intermodal, logistics and minerals terminals complete with quayside rail tracks and support infrastructure that will allow for general cargo, and even inbound container traffic, to be freighted in and out of the port by rail.
According to a senior port executive, rail connectivity will not only enhance productivity, throughput and overall efficiency at the port, but crucially, it will also help address supply chain related challenges primarily in the transportation of key mineral commodities to the gateway.
Jesse Damsky, Chief Commercial Officer, said the current practice of trucking millions of tonnes of mineral ores, chiefly gypsum and limestone, by road from quarries in Thamrait to Salalah Port, was proving increasingly unsustainable. The practical, long-term solution, he stressed, lies in the construction of the national rail network the final segment of which connects Thamrait with the maritime hub.
Speaking at the Oman Mining & Minerals Exhibition & Conference, which was held in the city last week, Damsky said an upsurge in gypsum and limestone exports out of Salalah has resulted in significant challenges with the potential to impact, among other things, the economics of this business. In particular, the transport of gypsum by road over a roughly 110 km distance to the port is associated with not only traffic congestion and road safety concerns but also capacity-related constraints, he noted.
Exports of these commodities, expected to top 10 million tonnes by the end of this year, are projected to more than double to around 24 million tonnes by 2029, according to the Chief Commercial Officer. This dramatic increase in throughput will also necessitate significant enhancements in the loading and turnaround of ships calling at Salalah to lift these volumes, he said.
At present, once stockpiled within designated areas in the port, the ore is then transported by wheel loaders and dumped on the quay, from where it is loaded into the vessel by clam-shell buckets operated by the ship’s gear. Consequently, a 50,000-tonne capacity vessel can take up to 4-6 days to load, resulting in higher shipping and freight costs for exporters — a shortcoming that Salalah Port is keen to address through the introduction of rail-based freight transportation.
However, given the fact that the port was designed and constructed long before Oman’s national rail project was first conceptualised some five years ago, Salalah Port has been working closely with Oman Rail to optimise the integration of the port with the national rail network.
“We have had to look at the design of the port to accommodate the rail head,” said Damsky. “We are looking at adding a new wharf on the northeast side in conjunction with Oman Rail. The trains will unload directly on to conveyors that feed mobile ship loaders. We are looking at loading capacities of around 2,000 tonnes per hour as opposed to 600 tonnes per hour currently. That means quicker throughput through the port, less time for vessels at anchorage, and even less for the vessels to get in and get out to the market.”
The rail-based solution mooted by Port of Salalah envisions freight deliveries by 100-wagon trains bearing loads in excess of 10,000 tonnes per train.