In a statement, to which Lusa had access, the company said that the tender is open to international entities under the Public Contracts Law and the Private Investment Law, for management under a "landlord port" regime for 20 years.
The company expresses preference for candidates with experience in this market, with financial strength of over 25 million dollars in equity, and an average annual turnover of no less than 100 million dollars over the last three fiscal years.
Bidders must prepare and submit as an eligible condition the plans for the operation and organization of the said terminal, including the planning and functional organization of the concession area, and the rules concerning environmental, hygiene, and safety requirements.
In addition to the above requirements, companies must also present their perspective for the construction, repair and conservation of the space being bid for, as well as the installation or substitution of equipment necessary for the execution of the contract.
According to the tender prospectus, the awarding authority wants bidders or their subsidiaries, whose participation is at least 25 percent in at least three port terminal concession operations in recent years, to have capacity in this type of operation.
"The presentation of the proposals and the requests for the pieces of the procedure are as of this Tuesday [available] against payment of the equivalent of 75,000 dollars," the note states, also indicating that the tender will be open until August 16 of this year, with the presentation of the definitive deposit of 4.7 million dollars.
The state company noted that the concession of the terminals under tender represents "a driving force for the rejuvenation of the Lobito corridor, which includes Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia," with the Angolan government's aim of keeping it as one of the main hubs for the circulation of raw materials and goods in these areas.
"The Angolan government's strategy in putting the multipurpose container and general cargo terminal out to tender follows a logic of economic rationality, to make trade between the countries that make up the system more intense and dynamic and to make the main transport infrastructures that make up the Lobito corridor, which are the Port of Lobito, the Benguela Railroad, and Catumbela International Airport (Benguela), profitable," the document noted.
This tender, the company stresses, presents "countless advantages, such as the integration of the Angolan economy within the regional common market, the flow of ore production from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia, via the Atlantic Ocean, as well as the promotion of the economic diversification process for Angola and at a regional level.
The Commercial Port of Lobito, with three terminals, namely the container port, with a capacity of 12 thousand 20-foot container units (TEUS) per year, the mining port, with an operational capacity of 3.6 million tons per year, and Dry Port, a second line terminal, with a static capacity of eight million TEUS/year, moves over 600 thousand tons of products quarterly.
Benguela province, on the country's southern coast, represents Angola's second largest economic and industrial center, whose economic potential allied to the railroad corridor requalification process and the port terminal concession currently underway, represents a determining strategic value for regional economic integration and for Angola's future.
"All of these aspects clearly reinforce the role of the Lobito corridor as one of the main access platforms to the remaining Southern African countries," the note stresses.
