The proposed expansion is the centrepiece of a revised master-plan which will beef up port infrastructure and facilities to cater for the gateway’s long-term growth.

“The Port of Salalah, together with the Ministry of Transport and Communications, has designed a new master plan for the entire port area that will accommodate growth for the next 20 years over the concession period,” Martijn van de Linde, CEO pf the Port of Salalah told the Observer.

The container terminal will be be upgraded to reach a total quay length of 8km over a 20-year timeframe, taking the port’s capacity to 15 million TEUs per annum, according to the revised plan.

The next phase of the port’s expansion is the development of a second container terminal, which will add three additional deepwater berths totalling 1350m to the existing 2581m linear quay. The port’s container handling capacity will consequently be boosted to 9 million TEUs.

“We have the design ready for Terminal 2, the capital investment for which is estimated at $525 million. Development is expected to begin as soon as market conditions are ideal. It’s likely that we embark on that investment, in terms of commitment from shareholders, in 2011,” van de Linde said.

“However, before we commit to investing in this expansion, we will first look for enhanced utilisation and further consolidation of existing capacity at the Container Terminal,” the CEO added.

Plans for capacity at the General Cargo Terminal are also ambitious. The revised master-plan, adopted by authorities last year, envisages a progressive ramp-up of capacity to 40 million tonnes of dry bulk commodities and five million tons of liquid products annually.

“The General Cargo Terminal will be our current development priority,” said Van de Linde. “In the next phase of development, we are planning an additional 1200m of multipurpose berths and facilities for dry bulk commodities, with an estimated investment of $120 million. These deepwater berths, of 16-18-metres drafts, will be large enough to handle the biggest vessels. We will start with a tender for a new liquids jetty, which will be floated by the Ministry of Transport and Communications, within a few weeks.”

Giving details, he said the new General Cargo Terminal development will include a new Northern Breakwater to eliminate the risk of long wave, as well as facilities for government and naval vessels.

“The General Cargo berths, along with the liquid berths, planned for construction inside the Southern Breakwater, are now in the final design stage and were tendered out at the end of 2009. Construction is expected to commence by the beginning of 2010 with a 22-month construction window. The new berths will be operational by the end of 2012.”

The proposed expansions will constitute the third phase of Salalah Port’s development. The second phase expansion, which was completed last year, saw the number of container berths at Salalah climb to seven, boosting the capacity to 5 million TEU per annum. Despite sharp declines in cargo volumes elsewhere around the Gulf and Middle East, Salalah Port witnessed significant increases in cargo throughout during 2009. Container volumes handled by the port were up 14 per cent to 3.494 million TEU last year (3.068 million TEU in 2008), while general cargo volumes climbed 7 per cent to 3.722 million tonnes (from 3.469 million tonnes in 2008).