Accompanied by Omani Commerce Minister Qais bin Mohammed Al-Yousef, Minister Al-Wazir toured the hub, which handles over 80 percent of Oman's trade and has attracted more than $30 billion in investment across the petrochemical, mineral, and logistics sectors.
Al-Wazir highlighted Sohar as a potential launchpad for
industrial synergy, noting that Oman’s surplus of polypropylene and copper
could meet rising demand in the Egyptian market.
To streamline trade, the Minister proposed establishing a
direct shipping link between Sohar and Egypt’s Sokhna Port. He noted that
Sokhna, which recently entered the Guinness World Records for the world’s
deepest man-made basin, is operated by leading global firms and serves as a
vital gateway to international markets.
"There are significant investment opportunities for the
Omani side in Egyptian ports," Wazir said, specifically inviting
partnerships in Alexandria’s Great Port and its new 547-acre logistics zone.
The visit comes as Egypt undergoes a massive maritime
expansion, increasing its commercial ports to 19 and extending its total pier
length to over 100 kilometers. Cairo aims to bolster its national merchant
fleet to 40 vessels by 2030, part of a strategy to handle up to 40 million
containers annually.
Sohar Port and its Freezone currently host 1,900 companies and manage 75 million tonnes of cargo per year, supported by a workforce of 42,000.