Posted Wed, 14 Jun 2006

The prospective buyers have raised their offers for the ports, having failed to secure the nod of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) after the first bidding exercise of May 15.

The BPE had rejected their offers at the opening of the bids for the ports last month because they were far below the value placed on them by the federal government.

For the Warri Port, the BPE has now been able to negotiate the offer from $1.29mn to $3.4mn and that of Koko Port up from $358 478 to about $1.5mn.

The newspaper reported recently that the on-going port reforms recorded its first hitches when two ports could not be concessioned.

At the close of the bidding process for the ports last month, the ports could not go to any of the bidders as the BPE planned to negotiate upward their offers for the long deserted ports.

Last month, Associated Maritime Services offered $1 099&Nbsp;420.00 for the Warri Port while Gulftain Bel Consortium offered only $358 478.00 for the Koko Port.

But Malam Ibrahim Njiddah, a member of the National Council on Privatisation (NCP), who had moderated the transactions then, said that both companies would be made to negotiate their offers upward since they were the highest bidders.

The low offer for the two ports, according to reports then, could be the direct effect of youth restiveness in the area as commercial activities at the two ports have since been brought to a halt.

Njiddah said Associated Maritime Services, which put in a bid for Warri Port and Gulftain Consortium, which put in a bid for Koko Port, would be required to negotiate the offer upward if they could be regarded as being interested in the ports acquisition.