Construction Middle East: Arabian Civil Engineers by GineersNow GineersNow Engineering Magazine Issue No. 014, Sau | Page 57

BUILDING A
WORLD CLASS
PORT & FREEZONE
Exclusive interview with Mark Geilenkirchen,
CEO of SOHAR Port and Freezone
Innovation is in the DNA of SOHAR Port and Freezone. The mega-development
has been pushing the boundaries of maritime logistics since it was first
established and has found new ways of doing business, making its tenants’
operations more efficient and convenient along the way. “Today, SOHAR is one
of the world’s fastest growing port and free zone developments and is really
establishing itself as the region’s challenger brand,” says Mark Geilenkirchen,
CEO at SOHAR Port. “All over the world, people in our industry are sitting up
and taking notice of what we’re doing here. Investments at SOHAR reached a
staggering US$26 billion last year, which is more than the GDP of some smaller
European countries.” With this kind of clout, SOHAR is able to use its position
to enhance innovation in Oman and the wider region.
At the end of 2016, as part of on-going expansion amid strong growth in
throughput for the second half of the year, SOHAR Port and Freezone closed
contracts with some significant new tenants, whose identity is due to be
announced soon. The tenants have agreed to lease a substantial new area as
an integral part of a land reclamation project at the Port. The reclamation
project is part of the SOHAR 2040 Masterplan, currently under finalisation, and
will give a substantial boost to the port’s ability to support the Sultanate’s aims
to increase its diversification efforts. ’SOHAR Port South’, as the newly
reclaimed area will officially be called once completed, will allow the port to
expand its portfolio of companies and add more business to drive growth
within the Omani economy. CEO Mark Geilenkirchen added: “SOHAR will build
on the Port of Rotterdam’s extensive experience with similar projects, like the
massive Maasvlakte 2 land reclamation in the Netherlands, to achieve the best
results during construction.”
Construction Leaders • April 2017
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