The Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) has announced that three firms have been pre-qualified and issued the Request for Proposal (RFP) for the concession of the Calabar and Kano Free Trade Zones (FTZs) in the country.
The Director General of the Bureau, Mr. Alex Okoh, who announced the qualification of the three companies at the bidders pre-bid conference for the concession of the two FTZs in Abuja on Monday, said the bidders were expected to submit their proposals on or before December 2, 2022.
He listed the companies as Diamond Stripes Consortium, BUA International Limited and Northwest Petroleum and Gas Company Limited for Calabar Free Trade Zone and Diamond Stripes Consortium, Urban Shelter Infrastructure Limited and BUA International Limited for Kano Free Trade Zone.
According to the Director-General, thereafter the technical proposals will be publicly opened the same day and evaluated subsequently.
He said: “The bidders are also expected to submit, along with their proposals, the draft Concession Agreement that has been reviewed or tracked with each page signed or initialed.”
Okoh said that the pre-bid conference is a continuation of the Federal Government’s ongoing efforts to diversify the country’s economy and fast-track its industrialisation by unlocking the potentials of the two FTZs to transform them into world class facilities through the injection of private sector capital and technical capacity.
He further clarified: “Specifically, the purpose of this meeting is to engage with the prospective bidders, financing institutions and contractors, to elicit discussions and address key concerns with respect to the transactions. We also seek to use this event to provide clarifications on vital issues around the bid documents which we believe should allow bidders to better contextualise and understand the bidding process and prerequisites.”
While stating the vital roles of FTZs to the economic growth and development of several countries in Southeast Asia and southern America particularly China, India, Brazil and Mexico, including some African Countries like Ethiopia and Kenya, the Director-General noted that these countries have leveraged on SEZs to fast-track industrialisation, diversify their economies, create jobs, and generate Foreign Direct Investments (FDI).
However, he lamented that efforts to replicate the success of the FTZ model in Nigeria had not yielded the desired results due to several reasons, including deficient and obsolete infrastructure, over reliance on the treasury for funding, amongst others.
Okoh explained that it was part of the efforts to check this trend that the Federal Government, through the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) in 2018 approved the reform of the Kano and Calabar FTZs with a view to transforming them, through private sector participation into important pillars and enablers for the FGN’s drive towards diversification, growth and development of the Nigerian economy.
He pointed out that following Council’s approval, a Transaction Implementation Committee (TIC) under the chairmanship of the Honourable Minister of Industry, Trade & Investment with membership drawn from relevant stakeholders including NEPZA, Ministry of Justice, Nigerian Export Promotion Council, BPE was constituted to drive the reform process. In addition, Ernst & Young Consortium, was engaged as the Transaction Adviser for the concession of the two Zones.
In his remarks, the Managing Director of the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA), Prof. Adesoji Adesugba, represented by his Special Adviser, Mr. Adewale Folowosele congratulated the pre- qualified bidders for getting to that stage of the concession of the two FTZs with the aim of driving sustainable development on the zones.
Adesugba commended the BPE for pursuing the transaction relentlessly and described the event as an important milestone for all stakeholders involved the transaction.
