Sohar Port

Sohar Port: a new industrial centre on the crossroads between Asia and Africa

Our client
Eager to diversify its economy, the State of Oman decided to expand Sohar Port with a container terminal, room for the world's largest vessels and space for large industrial plants.

This required the industrial port and the fishery harbour to be dredged and quay walls to be constructed. In July 2006, Oman's Ministry of Transport and Communications awarded this project to Van Oord and a consortium of companies.

Our work
The work included the deepening of the approach channel and turning basin from 16.5 m to 18.5 m and from 16 m to 18 m minus CD respectively. Van Oord also dredged the basin extension from -16 m to -18 m, the quay wall trench to -20 m and the existing fishery harbour from to -8 m to -10 m.

Van Oord used the 23.6 million m³ of dredged sand to reclaim land for the future container terminal and extension of the nearby fishery harbour. An additional 1.7 million tons of rock were used the fishery harbour and for bund construction in the main harbour.

Our results
One challenging aspect of this project was that very strict deadlines had to be met, because he port had already committed to development work on the industrial site and container port. Van Oord, however, met all deadlines.

When the expansion is completed at the end of 2008, the largest container, cargo and liquid carriers in the world will be able to call on Sohar Port. In addition to the container terminal, the new port houses Oman's first steel mill and an aluminium smelter.