Investors have approached Omani infrastructure fund manager Rakiza for its stake in a container terminal in Sohar Port, a source close to the situation told Infralogic.

Rakiza owns a stake of around 31% in Oman International Container Terminal (OICT) and is now considering an exit, according to the source, who added that the suitors include regional financial investors.

The container terminal, previously known as Hutchison Ports Sohar and majority-owned by the Hong Kong-based port operator, is located in the Port of Sohar along the Gulf of Oman, just outside the increasingly contentious Strait of Hormuz, according to published data.

Threats to shipping across the waterway amid the US-Iran conflict have made the container terminal and Sohar Port highly strategic assets, the source added, as they serve as an alternative supply route for GCC states if access to the strait is restricted.

Rakiza declined to comment.

The Omani fund manager acquired the stake in the container terminal in 2022 through its USD 1bn Rakiza Fund I, whose limited partners include the sultanate’s sovereign wealth fund Oman Investment Authority, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), and the sultanate’s Social Protection Fund.

Rakiza, a GP co-managed by Oman Infrastructure Investment Management and Equitix, was expected to launch a second fund after hitting a 75% deployment target for Fund I, as reported.

Rakiza Fund I is now over 70% deployed following the acquisition earlier this year of a 100% stake in water utility Majis Industrial Services, a Sohar-based industrial water services provider, in partnership with AP Moller-backed water management company IV3 Aqua.

Similarly to OICT, Majis’ asset sits outside the Strait of Hormuz, making it strategically important in the wake of the US-Iran conflict.

In addition to this asset, Rakiza’s current portfolio includes a 30% stake in a telecom tower portfolio in Oman; a majority stake in a fruit and vegetable market in central Oman; and a 39% stake in Oman Broadband Company.

In 2024 it acquired a 40% stake in Tihama Power Generation Company, which owns and operates four gas-fired cogeneration plants in Saudi Arabia.

The same year, the Omani fund manager also raised a USD 300m subscription line facility from Gulf International Bank, MUFG and Standard Chartered for its Rakiza Fund I, to support future investments.