Oman-based Salalah Port handled 2.1 million containers during the first half of 2021, media reports said. The port also handled 8.8 million general cargo goods during that period.
Mohammed Oufait Al-Shanfari, Executive Manager of Salalah Port Company, told the media, “Despite challenges posed by Covid-19 pandemic, the port had achieved positive growth in 2020. It made the largest volume of container handling ever — a record hit of 4.3 million containers, compared to 4.1 million in 2019.”
The ports in the Sultanate also achieved growth in several commercial operations and volumes of direct import during the same period.
Salalah Port was ranked sixth among 351 ports worldwide in the World Bank in its Container Ports Performance Index. The index measures the operational efficiency shown by a port when receiving container vessels and handling them.
Recently, the Saudi Ports Authority announced that they have registered a growth of 5.18 percent in the first quarter of 2021 and handled 3.6 million TEU. This announcement also reflects the Kingdom’s economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Transhipment containers also increased by 24.49 percent to 1.4 million TEU and handled a total of 138 million tons of cargo. Passenger intake number also increased by 0.61 percent year-on-year to 288,000.