MUSCAT: Galfar Engineering and Contracting Company on Thursday said that the company has bagged a major contract to build a major fishing harbour at Duqm. The value of the contract is OMR60.69 million for building marine and road related works at the fishing harbour. The duration of the construction period is 30 months, which excludes a six-month period for mobilisation, the company said in a disclosure statement posted on MSM website. Galfar shares moved up 1.9 per cent to 107 baisas amid 3.86 million shares changing hands on Thursday.
According to earlier reports, the proposed fishing harbour will accommodate not only Omani fleets but also fleets from other countries passing through the Indian Ocean, and more than 60 processing plants and related facilities will come up in a big area at the back of the Duqm fishing harbour. The proposed integrated fisheries hub at Duqm will be the largest facility of its kind in the wider Gulf region. Spread over an area of eight square kilometres, the hub will be anchored by a commercial fishery harbour that will be the biggest of its kind in the Sultanate.
The multi-purpose port can accommodate fishing fleets, ferries and coast guards. In the port, there will be facilities like fish market, an auction hall, administrative buildings, workshops, some stores for fishermen, cafeterias and coffee shops. The fully-fledged fishery industries complex project will have a research centre, a training centre, an international standards and quality assurance centre and modern handling and cold storage facilities.
The government will invest in the infrastructure and other utilities and will prepare the lands on a lease basis for investors with the aim of creating a fisheries hub in the region. The proposed areas for private sector investment in the fisheries sector include value addition in fisheries products, certified fish seed breeding facilities to avail quality seed to fish farmers, fish feed industry and fishing gear and equipment industry.
