A consortium named Ocean and Cargo Terminal Services Limited, has been declared the preferred bidder of Terminal B, Warri Old Port.
At a meeting on Wednesday at the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) in Abuja, the consortium, led by SIFAX Group, beat other bidders to emerge the preferred bidder of the port.
The event had in attendance the representatives of the National Council for Privatisation (NCP), Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Infrastructural Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), among others.
Corporate Affairs Manager of SIFAX Group, Muyiwa Akande, said in a press release on Wednesday that the Expression of Interest (EOI) for the port was advertised in 2014.
At the deadline of the submission, of the EOIs, 13 applications were received. Out of the 13 applications, seven were pre-qualified and out of the pre-qualified bidders, five were able to submit their technical and financial proposals by the deadline of January 31, 2017.
The five companies are Marine Infrastructure Consortium, Bright Ocean Integrated Services Limited, Ecomarine Consortium, Ocean and Cargo Terminal Services Limited and Neon Warri Ports Consortium. At the end of the evaluation of the technical proposals, Ecomarine Consortium and Ocean and Cargo Terminal Services Limited’s financial bids were qualified for the financial bid opening stage.
After the bid process, Ocean and Cargo Terminal Services Limited was declared the concessionaire of Terminal B, Old Warri Port. The concession is for a period of 25 years.
Speaking after the announcement, the Executive Vice Chairman, SIFAX Group, Dr. Taiwo Afolabi said, “This is a great news for us as a company to have led this consortium to win this very competitive bid. While we are glad that we have emerged the preferred bidder, we are not unaware of the enormous responsibility this victory has conferred on us.
“However, it is a familiar territory for us having operated the Terminal C at the Tin Can Island Port, Lagos successfully in the last 12 years. We will fall back on the experience and expertise we have developed running the terminal to make a difference at the Warri port.”
Also speaking, Group Managing Director, SIFAX Group, John Jenkins said the company, which is noted for its adherence to international best practices, will set new standards with the management of the new terminal.
“BPE, NPA and other relevant government agencies should look forward to an efficient port management system when we formally take over the control of the terminal while the clients are in for an unparalleled customer-focused service delivery that will put them at the heart of our operations,” Jenkins said.
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