Nigeria has announced the successful bidder of Ibom Deep Sea Port (IDSP) paving way for construction to start on a project that has been in the cards for years.
A consortium of Bollore and Power China is the preferred bidder for the project whose construction is slated for later this year or early 2019.China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd. emerged as the reserved bidder.
Bolloré Africa Logistics is a part of French-based Bolloré Transport & Logistics. Bolloré is a global port operator with 18 container terminal concessions (in Europe, Africa, India, Asia and the Americas).
PowerChina International Group Limited is the international business headquarters and the core business centre of Power Construction Corporation of China.
The selection followed an evaluation process conducted by the Evaluation Committee, convened by the IDSP Ministerial Project Development and Steering Committee, on competing bids received in response to the IDSP Request for Proposal.
Ibom Deep Sea Port will be situated in Akwa Ibom state within a licensed free trade zone.
The 2,565 hectares Greenfield port area is designed for New Panamax Class vessels with channel (18.24m); turning basin and berth depth (16.72m) and quay length of about 7.5 kilometres.
When fully developed, the container terminals will be able to accommodate up to 13 New Panamax Class container vessels and two very large feeder vessels.
The promoters of the project say that Ibom Deep Seaport offers an ultra-modern deep seaport with modern cargo handling equipment, facilities and systems that can address the capacity challenges constraining other seaports across the region.
The port will serve as the key maritime gateway for Nigeria, West and Central African region and hinterland countries.
“The Ibom Deep Seaport is in an enviable position to emerge as the first major transhipment hub for the region. The transhipment container market for the IDSP is estimated to grow from about 1.2 million TEUs in 2021 to about 4 million TEUs in 2040,” said the promoters in a statement.