Oman commerce agency stresses need to regulate transport industry

“In the long term, Omanisation is a reality, since it will help the people of this country move forward, so transport must be regulated, and authorities must put their foot down,” he added.

Transport bosses argued that the sector should be fully Omanised to cut down on rogue hauliers and to ensure Omani firms get all business from the country’s ports.

They also suggested to the chamber of commerce chairman that expats should be prevented from investing in trucks, equipment, and contracting in the road transport sector, calling for the trade to be fully Omanised.

Abdullah Khalid Qalhati from the Golden Company for Trading, Contracting and Land Transport in Sur, called for direct involvement from government agencies beyond just the Chamber.

“We should use the opportunity of such a meeting to invite the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the ROPolice, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Manpower, and ground transport authorities. We need a complete audience for our issues to be heard,” he said.

“I support the sector as a whole, but cannot support demands that would benefit one faction of the sector, and hurt others. These demands need revision and need to be reasonable,” Al Kiyumi told a delegation of hauliers.

The “hidden trade” within the sector and resulting competition from expatriate workers – able to undercut registered firms – is damaging the industry, bosses said.

“We must combat hidden trade with all legal means, because it affects the Omanisation of the transport sector,” one company boss said.

“After hearing the claims, most of them are concentrated in financial challenges and poor regulation of the transport sector. The chamber’s statistics indicate that there are 11,147 companies operating in ground transport, with Muscat Governorate as the leading area for land transport companies, with about 3,906 transport companies. This is followed by North Batinah with 2,105.

“The Ministry of Manpower database, on the other hand, indicated that there are 62 land transport companies with 928 Omani employees and 137 expats,” the Chairman said.

“This shows that it is not necessary to have a (registered) land transport company to carry out land transport activities, which reflects the existence of imbalance and discrepancy in numbers between related agencies,” the Chairman added.

Transport company executives also suggested that government agencies should be at the entrance of each sea port, in order to distribute work and prevent trucks from neighbouring countries from entering.
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