Muscat: The year 2017 marks the 30th anniversary of the existence of The Heavy Lift Group (THLG); a global network of Project Forwarders conducted their 61st annual group conference at the Intercontinental Hotel, Muscat.
Forty-two delegates from 30 member countries attended the event held recently. It is for the first time in the history of the THLG, a venue in the Middle East was chosen for the annual gala event.
Managed by Khimji’s House of Travel, the Heavy Lift Group International Conference was conducted by Khimji Ramdas Shipping in association with Asyad (Consortium Oman Global Logistics) & Port of Duqm. The international conference was tailored to connect the worldwide network of project and heavy lift logistics specialists and promote and showcase Oman’s infrastructure capabilities, thereby promoting to the Oman ports for moving heavy lift. The event also highlighted the concrete steps being taken by the government to make Oman one among the best global logistics hubs in the world.
M. C. Jose, CEO, Projects and Logistics Group, Khimji Ramdas said, “Heavy lift was traditionally moving over UAE because of the facilities and capabilities of vendors. In the last few years, we have managed to change the outlook of Oman based operators in handling such shipments, resulting in movements being handled and controlled by Oman based operators. We have moved many projects through Omani ports now and the trade sector has gained confidence. This conference will give visibility for Oman ports and capabilities for moving heavy lift.”
Emre Eldener, vice president, Executive Committee, The Heavy Lift Group, remarked, “The 30 years of its existence, THLG never ventured into the Middle East as a possible venue for its annual Conference. We are glad that we gave in to the compelling arguments put forth by our members from Oman, Khimji Ramdas Shipping. The conference has been an eye-opener in terms of Oman’s capabilities in handling such moves. Furthermore, all of us have been spellbound by Oman’s natural splendour, beauty, architecture and most of all the hospitality. Most of our members, including me, are sure to come back to Oman for our next holiday, along with our family, ensuring that we take in more of Oman’s offerings. Needless to say, we believe that Oman is truly the best tourist destination in the Middle East.”
“Asyad (Oman Global Logistics), through its Trade Facilitation Group is initiating a slew of measures towards making Oman a better place to do business,” said, Tapio Naula, programme director, Trade Facilitation, Asyad.
“Engaging with various stakeholders in the government and private sector, our aim is to promote Oman as a potential Global Logistics Hub. Various initiatives like AEO (Authorised Economic Operator ), implementing TIR & IRU conventions, facilitating pre-clearance at airport/seaports and decreasing the dwell time of shipments at the ports, are currently being worked upon. With the active interest of the various government authorities and the private sector, we are seeing encouraging results from the above initiatives,” he added.
Anwar Al Baluchi, commercial manager, Port of Duqm said, “We do not let ourselves be limited by size or weight. The Port of Duqm has been specifically designed to handle heavy and complex project cargo and has proven its expertise by successfully handling a variety of heavy and out of gauge cargo for various Clients in the Oil & Gas sector. The port is designed to accept packages with a maximum of 1,700 tonnes and the same has been verified by a 3rd party study.”
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