Three Firms to Bid for Dar Ports Sale Contract

By MIKE MANDE
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

THREE INTERNATIONAL firms have been selected to compete for the consultancy for privatising Tanzania's sea ports under the country's liberalisation programme.

The executive chairman of the Parastatal Sector Reform Commission (PSRC), Mr John Rubambe, said the three firms had been shortlisted following evaluation of technical proposals from five firms that bid for the maritime-sector consultancy.

The firms are Sea Port Consultants Canada Inc, Rotterdam Marine Group of the Netherlands, and HPC Hamburg Port Consulting GmbH of Germany.

Mr Rubambe said the successful firm would study and recommend the privatisation options for the Tanzania Harbours Authority and how to deal with the public enterprises' debt.

"The result of the study will enable PSRC to recommend to the government an appropriate divestiture strategy for the ports and the marine sector," he said. All services at Tanzania's coastal and inland ports are currently handled by the state-owned THA. The firms were selected after evaluation of technical proposals received from Price WaterHouseCoopers, Price Port of Belgium, HPC Hamburg Port Consulting, High Point Rendell of UK, Rotterdam Marine Group and Sea Port Consultants.

The consultanting firm, to be selected from among the three, is expected to evaluate four options, including multiple concessions for and disposal of individuals business units under THA and the restructuring of THA as a landlord port enterprise. Other options include appointing one single master concession to cover core business activities and disposal of non-core activities and assets.

THA Director General Samson Luhigo recently told The EastAfrican that the consultant to be selected would be required to consider the applicability of the different options to different ports and within the same port. The consultant will take into consideration the development role and the mechanism for financing the loss making out-ports.

THA is in the process of privatising its ports to improve efficiency of ports operations and enhance quality and efficiency of services offered to customers, to improve the port's competitiveness over other regional ports, and to improve profitability of port operations.

The stage for privatisation of THA was set by the commissioning of a World Bank financed study in which 17 THA business units would privatised including Dar Port container terminal as a pilot project.

The bidding process for the privatisation of the container terminal was set in motion by the engagement of consultant M/S CPCS Transom of Canada in July 1998 to prepare bid documents for a ten-year lease contract.

That process was completed with awarding the container terminal contract to a Manila-based consortium, International Container Terminal Services Inc., ICTSI International Holdings Corporation, of the Philippines and Vertex Financial Services Ltd of Dar es Salaam.

The consortium formed and registered a local company at the end of April 2000 calling it Tanzania International Container Terminal Services Ltd (TICTS).