Two industrial firms have signed an agreement in Doha for the development of an aggregate terminal in Oman’s Sohar Port, which is expected to increase the exports of gabbro and limestone to Qatar.
The co-operation agreement between Marafi Asyad Company, a newly established subsidiary of Asyad, which is owned by the Omani government; and Dolphin Integrated Company, a Qatari company and a subsidiary of Rafa Holding; establishes the Marafi Sohar Company for transporting, shipping, and storing gabbro and other aggregates.
The signing ceremony, hosted by Qatar Chamber on Monday, was led by Marafi Asyad CEO Dr Ahmed Mohamed al-Abri and Dolphin Integrated Company CEO Ghanim bin Saif al-Khayaren in the presence of Qatar Chamber chairman Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim al-Thani, Omani ambassador Najib bin Yahya al-Balushi, and Qatar Primary Materials Company CEO Essa Mohamed Kalidary.
“This agreement is very important not only for the Qatari and Omani side, but also for the countries within the region, extending all the way to India and Bangladesh, and it forms a strong and state-of-the-art facility in Oman close to areas which have an abundance of gabbro and limestone, as well as other building materials,” al-Abri told reporters on the sidelines of the event.
The first phase of the project will take around three months and is expected to commence export operations “before September 2018,” while “permanent phase will take 20 months,” according to al-Abri, who noted that the terminal’s main market would be Qatar and the GCC region.
“Once fully-operational, exports of gabbro and limestone to Qatar will increase exponentially and would satisfy the market requirements. The company is facilitating exports in two phases and both phases use state-of-the-art equipment to allow for huge amounts of aggregates to be exported…we strongly believe that this will lead to expansion of the trade.
“The project is providing a gateway for the quarry owners but at the same time it would fulfil the needs of the construction markets, and hopefully, in the future, the company is going to more phases to provide and to cater for more exports,” he added.
Sheikh Khalifa said Monday’s signing ceremony was the second agreement signed between Qatari and Omani companies in the field of primary materials, adding that the partnership will boost the primary materials market in Qatar.
He also lauded the close co-operation between Qatar and Oman “in all aspects,” and noted that Qatar Chamber will hold the second external edition of the ‘Made in Qatar’ expo in Oman by the end of the year.
Marafi Asyad CEO Dr Ahmed Mohamed al-Abri and Dolphin Integrated Company CEO Ghanim bin Saif al-Khayaren signing the agreement in the presence of Qatar Chamber chairman Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim al-Thani, Omani ambassador Najib bin Yahya al-Balushi, and Qatar Primary Materials Company CEO Essa Mohamed Kalidary.
