A consortium comprising Bollore Africa Logistics and PowerChina International Group has been chosen as the preferred bidder for the Ibom Deep Seaport Project (IDSP) in Nigeria.
Ibom Deepsea Port is located in Southeast Nigeria and is to be developed on a 2,565 hectare site within the Ibom Industrial City free trade zone. The port is designed to handle vessels up to neo-panamax size with 7.5 km of quay on completion, with operations expected to start in 2021.
The Bollore – PowerChina consortium has been chosen as preferred bidder with China Harbour Engineering emerging as reserve bidder for the project.
Chidi Izuwah, director-general of Nigeria’s Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), said: “The seaport will form part of an integrated industrial city to help foster economic development of the country as transportation is key to national development.
“The seaport is near the South South and South East regions and will drive the economic transformation and empowerment of Nigerians with a multiplier effect that will create massive employment for the country’s teeming population. It’s circle of economic influence is expected to extend radially to the North Central, North Eastern and North Western zones”.
The stage in the process will be due diligence and extensive negotiations with the aim of submitting a Full Business Case (FBC) for the issue of an FBC compliance certificate.