APL and Port of Salalah announce joint venture agreement

Container shipping leader APL and Port of Salalah announced the creation of a 50:50 joint venture to operate a new two-berth container terminal.

The JV will start operations in 2011, after completion of the planned expansion of the container terminal at the Port of Salalah, which is both the facility owner/operator and port authority.
The JV covers a 28-hectare deep-sea facility that will have a total quay length of 700 meters and an annual capacity of 1.6 million TEU. It will be capable of servicing container vessels of more than 10,000 TEU.

Commenting on the deal, Ron Widdows the Group CEO of APL parent company Neptune Orient Lines (NOL), said, he partnership with Port of Salalah is part of our long-term commitment to enhance our service to customers. Salalah location on the southwest coast of Oman makes it one of the most ideal transshipment hubs connecting the East-West container routes to the fast-growing Middle East and South Asia regions.

Mr Widdows added, his deal will enable us to acquire new business and complements the network of other arrangements we have in the Middle East region that are vital to our service capability, including into the Arabian Gulf.?The Port of Salalah began operations in 1998 and currently has six container berths, with a capacity of 4.5 million TEU.

Port of Salalah has a 30-year concession to operate the port and also acts as the Port Authority. APM Terminals owns 30% of Port of Salalah, with public and private Omani interests owning the balance.

The JV will invest in super post panamax cranes and other container handling equipment and systems.
The Salalah investment will be an important addition to APL extensive global portfolio of terminals, which includes wholly owned terminals on the US West Coast (Los Angeles, Seattle, Oakland and Dutch Harbor), Japan (Kobe and Yokohama) and Taiwan (Kaohsiung), as well as joint venture interests in Thailand (Laem Chabang) and Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City). APL is also part of the consortium that won in 2007 the concession to operate the first container terminal of Maasvlakte 2 in Rotterdam.