Uche Usim, Abuja

The Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) has announced Ocean and Cargo Terminal Services Limited as the preferred bidder for Terminal B Warri Old Port in Delta State.

The agency said the financial bids opening for the port terminal held in Abuja on Wednesday, the bidder offered the sum of $25, 510,000.64 to emerge the preferred concessionaire after its rival, Ecomarine Consortium, was disqualified for improper submission of its bidding documents.

However, Ecomarine’s bid price was not announced. Ocean and Cargo Terminal Services Limited’s emergence is subject to the approval of the National Council on Privatisation (NCP),” BPE Director General, Alex Okoh, said.

The event, which was chaired by Alhaji M K Ahmed, Chairman of the Technical Committee of NCP 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.

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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.

Speaking at the occasion, Director General of BPE, Mr. Alex A. Okoh, who was represented by the Director, Transport Department, Mallam Aliyu Maigari, noted that 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 Nigerian ports the hub of international freights in West and Central Africa.

Okoh maintained that government expects much from the preferred bidder for the Terminal ‘B’ Warri Old Port and urged it to focus on the objectives of the port reforms as it goes about its businesses.