Oman Will Not Renew APM Terminals' Concession at the Port of Salalah Beyond 2028
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The government of Oman, through the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology (MTCIT), has decided not to extend the concession held by Salalah Port Services Company (SAOG) over the Port of Salalah once the contract expires on November 1, 2028. The company received formal notification on October 18 and described it as a 'final and unconditional' decision.
Concession structure
SAOG is led by APM Terminals, the port operations division of Danish group A.P. Moller-Maersk, which holds a 30% stake in the company, while the Omani state holds a 20% stake through the Asyad group. The concessions to operate the container and general cargo terminals date back to 1998, when they were granted for 30 years, and APM Terminals also provides technical and operational support through separate management agreements.
Recent investments
The decision comes after SAOG completed a $300 million upgrade of the container terminal in the first quarter of 2025, which included improvements to the six existing berths, a new road access, expanded reefer plug points, and an upgraded electrical substation. The program also added around $200 million in equipment, including new ship-to-shore (STS) gantry cranes, hybrid RTG cranes, reach stackers and terminal trucks, which the company chose to lease rather than purchase due to uncertainty over the concession's continuity. With these works, the terminal's handling capacity rose from 4.5 to 6.5 million TEU.
Volumes and results
According to data released by the company, the port handled around 4.3 million TEU in 2025, up 31% from 2024. An additional report detailed that general cargo grew 17% to 26.4 million tonnes, and that SAOG posted consolidated revenue of OMR89.4 million ($232.5 million) and net profit of OMR7.3 million ($19 million) during that year.
What's next
MTCIT stated that port operations and development works will continue without interruption for the remainder of the concession period, and that the new operator taking over after November 2028 will be announced in due course, with no successor or selection timeline disclosed so far. The process brings to a close more than two years of negotiations between the ministry and SAOG, which began in May 2024, while the company's board of directors assesses the impact of the decision on its business, leaving open the question of what will happen to the lease agreements for the new equipment.
