A multi-million dollar fuel storage depot is being developed at the Salalah Port by Dubai-based Mina Petroleum, which specialises in commodity trading and full-cycle logistics for delivery of petroleum products, according to a report.

The 230,000-cu-m storage facility will be completed by November this year, said the Oman Daily Observer report.

“The construction work of the depot is well under way and is nearing completion”, said Kutaiba al Hatmi, country head, Mina Group, was quoted as saying.

The project plans envisage the construction of nine large fuel storage tanks that are connected to the Salalah Port’s new liquid jetty via a pipeline network and a series of pump stations, he said.

The depot will initially serve visiting naval ships and later will be expanded to commercial vessels, said the report.

The construction is in line with a contract award secured from the US government to supply fuel to its vessels calling at Salalah, it said.

The Salalah Port Services Company manages the port under the supervision of IBM for container terminals which owns a share in the company and is the largest container terminal operators in the world.

It consists of a container terminal with six wharf of 18-m draft, and general cargo terminal with 12 wharf of four to 16 metres draft, along with a good infrastructure for receiving and handling the largest container ships in the world, handling bulk cargo and refuelling, in addition to warehouses and stores.

“The Mina is also exploring a number of options for corporate social responsibility, including sewage treatment and water purification infrastructure for the rural Dhofar communities, technical training programmes for local students in fuel facilities operations and maintenance, investment in local education and recreation activities,” Al Hatmi was quoted as saying.