Pact Signed for Drydock Project

Ahmed bin Abdulnabi Macki, minister of finance and national economy and deputy chairman of the Financial Affairs and Energy Resources Council, signed on behalf of the Sultanate's government while Nam San-tae, Daewoo chief executive officer and president, signed on behalf of his company.

As per the 10-year agreement, Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co. Ltd, will provide administrative and technical support, transfer of modern technology used for ship repairing and maintenance of the dockyard project in Duqum. During its management of the project, the Korean company will prepare a work plan on marketing the services of the dry dock yard in Duqum to various international shipping companies, training and qualifications of Omani national cadres working in various professions of speciality at the ship repairing and maintenance of dry dockyard in the wilayat of Duqum. Macki said the dry dockyard project is one of the important strategic projects that may contribute to a new financial source of income in the Sultanate. In a statement to ONA, Macki said the project's feasibility study reflects the significance of the project's location in serving international shipping, considering Duqum ports proximity to the busy regional sea-lanes traversing Oman's coastal waters.

Macki said the Sultanate's government would invite a number of international firms for public tender. He said construction of the ship Dry Dock project would commence in the first quarter of 2007. He said in designing of the new Dockyard, future expansion of the project and possibility of providing ship-manufacturing services had been considered. The project is located at Ras A'duqum. It comprises construction of two docks and one floating dock to repair and maintain oil and gas tankers of 100,000-tonne capacity. For this purpose, the government recently established a company called Oman Dry Dock Company. Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co. Ltd. had prepared the detailed study and engineering designing of the project's implementation stages. Daewoo is the second company in the world in ship-building, repair and maintenance. Source: Times of Oman