Oman International Container Terminal (OICT) held a special ceremony in late January to mark the opening of Terminal B at the Phase 1 development within the Port of Sohar.

A quayside ceremony to commemorate the occasion was attended by John Meredith, group managing director of Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH) and Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Harthy, Minister of Transport and Communications.

"We are pleased to witness the grand opening of OICT, which has been transformed successfully from a greenfield site into a modern container handling facility in record time since the signing of the joint-venture agreement in November, 2005," he said.

OICT is a joint venture between the HPH group, the Government of Oman, Steinweg of the Netherlands and three Omani investors. The facility, capable of accommodating the world's largest vessels, is located outside the Straits of Hormuz in the Gulf of Oman. It commenced operations in last September.

"OICT will strengthen Oman's position as a centre of trade in the region, as well as serve as a gateway to international trade for the Sohar Industrial Port and other developing industries in the Batinah region," said Mr Meredith.

Terminal B, Phase 1 has a total quay length of 285 metres and a depth alongside of 16.5 metres. The terminal is equipped with four postpanamax quay cranes, eight rubber-tyre gantry cranes, two reach-stackers, 15 tractors and 33 trailers.

Phase 2 is expected to come on stream ahead of schedule next month. Upon completion, the container terminal will have a total quay length of 520 metres and a total yard area of 28 hectares, a company statement said.