The Omani-Qatari Joint Venture, (JV) Karwa Motors has exported its first batch of ‘Made in Oman’ buses to Doha, Qatar.
The shipment was handled by Al Madina Logistics Services Company (AMLS), a leading Omani provider of warehousing and logistics services, as well as an operator of dry ports in the Sultanate of Oman.
An initial batch of 34 buses has been ferried to Al Madina’s logistics hub at Sohar from where the buses were loaded onto a ship destined for Port Hamad in Doha.
Mahmood Sakhi Al Balushi Group CEO – AMLS
“We thank Karwa Motors for the trust and faith placed in AMLS and are proud to have been a part of this project. These buses signify a first on many levels; the first ones made in Oman, the first ones rolling out of Karwa Motor’s assembly line at Duqm, and the first ones delivered successfully to the customer in Qatar. This move was handled by our professional freight forwarding team and facilitated through our dry port at AMLS Sohar Logistics Hub, before the vehicles embarked on their journey to Hamad Port.”
A joint venture of Oman Investment Authority (30 percent) and Mowasalat Qatar (70 percent), Karwa Motors’ bus factory in Duqm SEZ was officially launched on June 23, 2022, in the presence of top officials from the two countries as well as their high-level executives representing the shareholders.
Set up with an investment of $71 million, it is the first plant of its kind dedicated to the assembly of passenger buses and coaches, and a potential cornerstone of a future automotive manufacturing sector envisioned to come up in the Sultanate of Oman.
Covering an area of over 560,000 square meters, the plant is equipped to assemble three different types of buses, city-based buses, school buses and intercity buses, ranging in size from 8 to 12 meters, with seats ranging from 30 to 55 seats. Output at full capacity is estimated at 700 buses per annum, with ample space available for the production of electric buses and other automotive goods.
