MUSCAT : In an official press conference held at Muscat’s Kempinski Hotel and attended by representatives of both organizations, GCEO of Oman Aviation Group, Mustafa Al Hinai, and Country Manager of DHL Oman, Moustafa Osman, announced a strategic partnership to strengthen air logistics at Muscat Airport City. Attracting international investors and leading logistics players to Oman is a key component of Oman’s National Aviation Strategy 2030, and the partnership agreement comes as part of a joint understanding of the companies’ mutual investment in air cargo as an essential building block for the future.

With COVID-19 underscoring the importance of air cargo in recent months, especially for the movement of essential goods and specialized medical equipment—the agreement further strengthens Oman’s attractiveness as a hub on strategic East-West trade corridors.

Since its founding in 2018, Oman Aviation Group has developed a series of key economic strategies designed to empower Oman’s aviation sector and enable economic diversification across several adjacent sectors. Aligned fully with the National Aviation Strategy 2030 and Oman’s Vision 2040 strategy to diversify the economy and develop world class infrastructure, the air cargo ecosystem was identified in Oman’s National Aviation Strategy as holding the promise of significant economic potential.

Oman continues to climb the ranks of the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index (LPI)—as well as much-needed employment for the national workforce. To realize this potential, significant investments and upgrades to cargo terminals in Muscat and Salalah were effected as part of the Group’s longer-term strategy to increase air cargo throughput in the Sultanate to 730,000 tons by 2030.

Mustafa Al Hinai, GCEO at Oman Aviation Group confirmed that, “The National Aviation Strategy launched in 2020 identified the potential to grow market share in our established markets, including the GCC, and expand to new secondary markets in Asia, Africa and Europe.” Until the global pandemic, Oman regularly reported cargo growth of 10% or more compared to the same period the year before, bucking industry trends and proving that increased air cargo in the Sultanate is an upward trend.

In a webinar held recently, Savills Middle East pointed to the growing importance of trade and logistics in the MENA region where the potential to attract global investors is considerably high. This holds true for Oman, third in terms of logistics competitiveness in the MENA region. In the same webinar, Sulaiman Al Riyami, Vice President Real Estate at Oman Aviation Group stated, “Geographic location plays a vital role for logistics accessibility.

Air cargo is key to the Sultanate’s logistics landscape; Muscat Airport City is in the middle of the city, which grants access to various local industrial parks. Establishing seamless access between sea and air transport allows us to position Oman as an attractive location for operators and investors from global markets.” At the crossroads of Asia and Africa, Oman is connected to two thirds of the world’s population within an eight-hour flight, and one third within 4 hours; sea-to-air connections bypass the Strait of Hormuz and Bab-al-Mandeb, making Oman an ideal location to do business.

Airport Cities and Free Zones across the Sultanate were also identified in Oman Aviation Group’s Aviation Strategy as a means of attracting global trade and logistics businesses to Oman, and are expected to have a positive financial impact by establishing vibrant economic clusters in and around Oman’s airports. Logistics Gates within Airport Cities will house dedicated air cargo and logistics businesses and provide airside access to facilitate the movement of goods and significantly improve air freight delivery times with the aim to enable the globalization of national industries and transform Oman into a significant cargo hub in the region. Recognizing this potential, DHL decided to lead the express international logistics growth in Oman with the opening of a new storage facility at Muscat Airport City to meet growing demand in the region.

Having facilities located in close proximity to airside activities is a key component of DHL’s global strategy to create a seamless operation offering both time and cost-savings for its customers. Moustafa Osman, DHL Express Country Manager, Oman, explained that, “Our new storage facility confirms Muscat’s potential to become a leading cargo hub in the region, as well as our commitment to grow and expand our operations in the Sultanate.

The city’s strategic location fits with our longer-term objective to increase dedicated DHL services and to expand our network across the region. Oman plays in an important part in our plans, providing huge potential for growth and development. As the world shifts more into ecommerce solutions it is essential that we prepare for future demands, we can already see a high increase in ecommerce shipments to Oman which presents a clear picture that the shift in global trade will provide new opportunities to which we will be well prepared.”