Bolivar port concession awards expected 1Q03 - Ecuador
Business News Americas
Ecuador's Bolivar port authority (APPB) aims to award two concession
contracts to upgrade and operate its port terminals in January
or February, a port official told BNamericas Tuesday.
APPB officials had originally planned to award the contracts in
December, but do not expect the government to approve contract
documentation in time, the official said.
Instead, the government will review the contracts in December,
and qualified companies will have 45 days to present their final
offers before APPB makes its decision, the official said.
After APPB awards the contracts, winning firms have 90 days to
establish the concessions. The qualified firms are Ecuadorian
companies Ecuaestibas and Marglobal as well as engineer Boanerges
Pereira.
Port officials will award two 25-year concessions for Terminals
1 and 2 to different operators to foster competition. Terminal
1 will require an estimated investment of US$17.4mn and involves
overhauling and enlarging the breakwater pier and repairs to berths
1, 2, and 3, according to preliminary information. Terminal 2
will require an estimated US$26.5mn and includes the construction
and operation of berths 5 and 6 and their respective service and
support areas.
Bolivar, in El Oro province, is an export gateway for the country's
south. The concession process is designed to help it surpass Guayaquil
as Ecuador's leading banana exporting port.
Randy Woods
(BNamericas.com)
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