The deadline to submit bids for building a general cargo terminal and a liquid jetty at Salalah port has been extended to September 27 from an earlier set date of August 23. As many as 41 international and local construction companies have already evinced interest in bidding for the engineering, procurement and commissioning contract, which will have an envisaged capital expenditure of $120 million, according to a report published today by Times of Oman. According to earlier reports, the expansion project involves building additional multipurpose berths, a new breakwater, facilities for dry bulk commodities and a new liquids jetty. As part of the expansion, capacity at the terminal will be increased to handle 40 million tonnes of dry bulk commodities and five million tonnes of liquid products per annum. The proposed liquid terminal will handle petrochemicals and other liquid products shipped into and out of the Salalah free zone located close to the port. According to the plan, the new liquid jetty will go on stream by the end of 2012. The terminal will be able to accommodate some of the world's biggest vessels.
