Warri Old Port terminal B: Ocean and Cargo Services Ltd gets NPA nod

The Governing Board of the Nigerian Ports Authority has approved the concession of Terminal B, Warri Old Port to Messers Ocean and Cargo Services Limited.

This is in continuation of the port reform process started by the Federal Government through the Bureau of Public Enterprises in 2006, a statement from the management of the NPA indicated.

The NPA governing board, chaired by Emmanuel Adesoye, met on Wednesday in Lagos.

According to the statement, at the end of the board meeting, the new concessionaire emerged from seven pre-qualified bidders who responded to a Request for Proposals issued by the BPE on September 27, 2017.

It explained that Ocean and Cargo Services Limited would operate the terminal, which has been abandoned for the past 10 years in a concession agreement for a 25-year term.

The statement read in part, “Within this period, the concessionaire would rehabilitate infrastructure at the terminal and deploy modern technological infrastructure with the aim of making the facility competitive. The development plan for the terminal will be reviewed every five years to make it responsive to changes in operations.”

The terminal was first concessioned to Associated Maritime Services Limited in 2006 but the company was relocated to the Warri New Port upon the collapse of the quay wall in April 2008.

The terminal covers an area of 4.39 hectares and consists of facilities like a 760m long quay deck with appropriate quay hardware, open cargo storage areas as well as engineering and maintenance yards, the statement added