Ocean and Cargo Terminal Services Limited has offered $$25, 510,000.64 to emerge the preferred concessionaire of Terminal B, Warri Old Port in Delta State. At the financial bids opening for the Port Terminal held by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) in Abuja yesterday, its rival-Ecomarine Consortium- was disqualified for improper submission of its bidding documents.
Consequently, Ecomarine’s bid price was not announced. However, Ocean and Cargo emergence is subject to the approval of the National Council on Privatisation (NCP).
The event which was chaired by the Chiarman, Technical Committee of NCP, Alhaji M. K Ahmed, was attended by many stakeholders, including the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) which was represented by Dr. Sokonte Davies (Executive Director, Marine Operations) who stood in for the Managing Director, Ms. Hadiza Bala Usman.
Ecomarine had scored 87.84 per cent and Ocean and Cargo Terminal Services Limited, 82.70 per cent in the evaluation of the technical proposals of the prospective bidders.
Speakingon the occasion, Director-General of BPE, Mr. Alex A. Okoh, who was represented by the Director, Transport Department, Mallam Aliyu Maigari, said modest achievements have been recorded at the ports since the port concession programme commenced in 2005, hence the government’s determination to concession the Terminal ‘B’ Warri Old Port.
He said the objectives of the port concession are to, among others, increase the efficiency of ports operations; reduce cost of doing business for ports users; reduce dependence on the treasury for support to an otherwise economically viable ports sector; and; boost economic activity, increase the GDP and accelerate development to make the Nigerian ports the hub of international freights in West and Central Africa.