Ministry asks Port Services Corp. to continue operation for another three months in Oman

Muscat: The Port Services Corporation said that it has received letter from the Minister of Transport and Communications requesting the corporation to continue operating and manage Port Sultan Qaboos for another three months up to March 31, 2017, according to a disclosure statement posted on MSM website.
The board of directors of the majority state-owned company is studying this request taking into consideration the decisions taken by the shareholders in the second extra ordinary general meeting held on December 7, 2016 and the local laws and regulations.
The outcome of the decision of the board will be disclosed at the earliest after their review and study.
Recently, an extraordinary general meeting of the Port Services Corporation (PSC) has unanimously decided to liquidate the company with effect from January 1, 2017, after the expiry of present concession agreement on December 31. The meeting of shareholders of majority state-owned port operator also decided to appoint Moore Stephens as the liquidators of the company, who will start their work from January 1, 2017.
The move to liquidate the company was in light of the fact that the renewal of the concession agreement to operate and manage the Port Sultan Qaboos for another year (2017) will not be economically viable and will not generate adequate returns for the shareholders, the company said in a disclosure statement on the Muscat Securities Market in September this year.
Majority state-owned Port Services Corporation’s revenue started declining substantially after the government shifted commercial activities of Muscat port to Sohar port in August 2014, in a move to covert the former into a full-fledged tourism port.