By Conrad Prabhu — MUSCAT: Dec 10: Oman Tourism Development Company (Omran), the wholly government owned tourism development and investment company, is expected to take over operation and management of Muscat’s Port Sultan Qaboos with effect from January 1, 2017.
This follows a unanimous decision by current operator Port Services Corporation SAOG (PSC) to liquidate itself upon the expiry of its concession agreement with the Omani government on December 31, 2016. That decision came last Wednesday at the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) of shareholders representing 72.94 per cent of PSC’s equity shares.
In a filing to the Capital Market Authority (CMA) on Thursday, PSC said it had appointed accounting and advisory firm Moore Stephens to oversee the liquidation of the corporation.
“The 2nd EGM clearly authorised the liquidators to conclude any settlement with the Corporation’s creditors, and to accept arbitration on the Corporation’s behalf, and to waive any insurance or any other kind of security for less than its full value. The EGM also authorised the liquidators to sell all the Corporation’s assets and projects, and to transfer them,” PSC’s Company Secretary stated.
Following the announcement, PSC shares jumped almost 10 per cent in value from RO 0.241 per share to RO 0.265 at the end of trading on the Muscat bourse on Thursday.
With this momentous decision, Port Services Corporation — the first port operator which was set up by the government to run the nation’s first commercial gateway in Muscat in 1976 — will effectively cease to exist as an operational entity at the end of this year.
But marine and harbour operations will not be impacted as the port makes the transition from PSC’s management to that of Omran which, earlier this year, was formally named Master Developer of the Mina Al Sultan Qaboos Waterfront Project — an ambitious initiative to transform the port into a distinctive mixed use tourism, leisure and cruise destination.
“We anticipate a smooth and seamless handover to Omran, which has pledged to absorb PSC’s existing staff, and also acquire some of the movable marine assets necessary to support navigation through the port channel, as well as assist in the berthing and unberthing of vessels,” said a senior official of PSC.
According to the source, most — if not all — of the 115-plus staff currently on PSC’s rolls will transfer to Omran going into the new year.
They include all of the Omani staff, as well as the harbour master and marine staff critical to the port’s operations.
Also likely to be acquired by Omran are some of the tugboats and facilities, currently owned by PSC, but crucial for the smooth operation of the port.
Significantly, shareholders representing the government’s 35.5 per cent stake in PSC, currently held by sovereign wealth fund Oman Investment Fund (OIF), voted in favour of the liquidation move at last week’s EGM. OIF, along with other public sector entities, make up roughly half of the Corporation’s equity.
As part of the liquidation process, set to last around 8 to 12 months, PSC will seek to sell its corporation-owned assets which include, among other things, its headquarters building at Jibroo. Investments made in stocks over the years — all part of the corporation’s substantial book value — also promise result in attractive payouts to shareholders upon liquidation.
Last month, Omran launched Phase 1 of the Mina Al Sultan Qaboos Waterfront Project envisaging the transformation of the port area into a major tourism-based development with business and residential zones, a shopping centre, six hotels, recreation amenities and tourist attractions, as well as docking facilities for cruise liners and yachts.
Phase 1 of the integrated development is expected to be ready by 2020.
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