APL, a subsidiary of Singapore-based container shipping company Neptune Orient Lines, and the Port of Salalah in Oman have formed an equity stake joint venture to operate a new two-berth container terminal.

The joint venture (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 and port authority.

The JV covers a 28-hectare deepsea facility that will have a total quay length of 700m and an annual capacity of 1.6 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit). It will be capable of servicing container vessels of more than 10,000 TEU.

Ron Widdows, group CEO of Neptune Orient Lines, said: "The partnership with Port of Salalah is part of our long-term commitment to enhance our service to customers. Salalah's location on the southwest coast of Oman makes it one of the most ideal trans-shipment hubs connecting the east-west container routes to the fast-growing Middle East and South Asia regions."