Muscat: Oman has decided to shift all its commercial port operations from Mina Qaboos Port in Muscat to Sohar and convert the capital's waterfront facilities into a tourist hub.
In a joint statement, the Transport and Communications Ministry and Tourism Ministry said all commercial import, export, general cargo and container activities will be transferred from Muscat to Sohar Industrial Port.
The decision comes in the wake of Royal Directives of Sultan Qaboos Bin Saeed to convert Port Sultan Qaboos into a tourist port.
Master plan
The statement pointed out that in coordination with respective public and private departments, the two ministries will develop a master plan and detailed designs for the port.
The ministries will also prepare the construction and implementation documents for the port projects, which will be dedicated fully to tourism use.
The statement added that there will be coordination with the respective departments about the mechanism of transferring all commercial import, export, general cargo and container activities to Sohar Industrial Port to ensure non-conflict with the existing concession agreement for the management and operation of Port Sultan Qaboos.
