Procurement process for Ibom Port to commence soon, says FG

Abuja – The Minister of Transport, Sen. Idris Umar, said on Friday in Abuja that the procurement [pro_ad_display_adzone id=”8″]
process for Ibom Deep Sea Port, located in Akwa Ibom, would commence soon.
Umar said this at the official submission of the Outline Business Case (OBC) for the project by the project Transaction Advisors, Messrs Felak Concept Ltd and Maritime Transport Business Solutions [pro_ad_display_adzone id=”10″]
(Felak/MTBS).
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Ministerial Project Development and Steering [pro_ad_display_adzone id=”10″]
Committee for the project was inaugurated on Sept. 18. 2012.
The committee was inaugurated by the Minister of Transport with the mandate to deliver a deep sea[pro_ad_display_adzone id=”10″]
port in Akwa Ibom by the end of 2015.
Umar said with the submission of the report, the ministry would take immediate steps to obtain necessary approvals to commence the procurement process for the project.
He said the advertisement would be placed, inviting investors from within and outside the country to express their interest.
“After that the necessary evaluation will be carried out with the transaction advisers.
”We have to work assiduously with the OBC document to ensure that the procurement processes commence as soon as possible”, the minister said.
Umar said the presentation of the OBC document was a demonstration of the political will and determination of the Federal Government and Akwa Ibom Government to ensure the success of the project.
“The ministry, the transaction advisers and the Nigerian Ports Authority have worked assiduously to attain what we have achieved today.
“It took the committee and the transaction advisers, who are the consultants two years, to carry out this exercise and the time frame is justifiable, given the volume of report they have submitted,’’ Umar said.
He said the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) also had to evaluate the report.
Umar said the project was targeted to be completed by the end of 2015 but given the enormity of requirements involved, it was obviously impossible to start its procurement process much earlier.
“The time spent on the production of this document is sufficiently justified,” the minister said.
The secretary of the committee, Mallam Dikko Bala, appreciated the Federal Government, Akwa Ibom Government and other stakeholders for their support, adding that he looked forward to the procurement phase.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the project was initiated to be sited at Mbo Local Govrnment Area but further analysis made the consultants to recommend Ibeno Local Government Area.