A group senior officials from Oman’s Sohar Port and Freezone visited India as a part a three-day tour to promote the new Gulf gateway to South Asian investors and discuss the sultanate’s logistics sector, a report said.

During the visit, a number of roundtable discussions were held which focused mainly on the logistics sector, as the sultanate looks to play an increasingly important role in the regional logistics industry, added the Oman Daily Observer report.

As the Middle East embarks on its most ambitious rail network ever, with about $250 billion earmarked for the construction of nearly 70,000 kilometres of railway line over the next five years, Mumbai and Chennai were the focus for this week’s Sohar road show, said the report.

Oman’s new railway network will help transform the sultanate into a major cargo hub for the entire Gulf region, in turn creating a wealth of investment opportunities for Indian companies.

Thanks to Port of Rotterdam’s long experience as a European cargo rail hub, optimal rail integration has been central to the design of all the terminals in Sohar Port, right from the outset.

This week’s road show is there to support Oman’s Vision 2020 programme, which aims to diversify the country’s economy beyond the oil industry. The rapid development of the port and freezone in Sohar is a good example of how the nation is strengthening its manufacturing capabilities and is fast shifting away from being a country that only exports hydrocarbons, it added.

Andre Toet, chief executive officer (CEO) of Sohar Port, said that the Sohar Port and Freezone is a critical link in Oman’s commercial logistics industry and is committed to building a sustainable logistical gateway that will help Oman to achieve its Vision 2020 objectives.

He noted that from the standpoint of Oman’s economic diversification strategy, the logistics industry has the potential to surpass the hydrocarbons sector as the nation’s economic mainstay.

Jamal Aziz, CEO of Sohar Freezone, added that Oman’s logistics sector is projected to grow beyond the $12 billion mark by 2017.