Six consortia bid for port cargo contract

No fewer than six consortia are eyeing the port merchandise contract as the call for expressions of interest came to a close yesterday at noon. But the adjudication period has already faced a hiccup after the bid of one particular consortium initially reached the wrong address.

The six consortia or companies which bid for the contract are Carmelo Caruana Company Limited; Farrugia, Gatt and Falzon; Kuwait and Gulf Link Transport Company; PD Port Services; Malta Port Terminals Limited and TF Shipping Agencies.

A team made up of Malta Maritime Authority and Competitiveness Ministry officials, among others, will adjudicate the submissions.

A shortlist of the consortia will be drawn up shortly and the contract is expected to be awarded by December, Competitiveness Minister Censu Galea said, when contacted. It will come into effect next July 2006 and is expected to run for 10 years.

The tender is for the handling of cargo at the Valletta harbour only and does not include any work at the Freeport, even though the General Workers' Union-owned Cargo Handling Company Ltd, which has held the cargo handling contracts since 1970, is paid for work it never does at the Freeport.

Mr Galea said he was positively impressed with the number of tendering consortia, especially with three foreign companies among the bidders - Portia, the overseas arm of Mersey Docks and Harbour, PD Port Services and Kuwait and Gulf Link Transport Company.

"The response shows the potential of the ports and the fact that even foreigners have expressed an interest shows that many are looking at its long-term viability," he said.

Through the new contract, the government is hoping to secure a reduction in prices and increased efficiency.

MMA chairman Marc Bonello said last month the cargo handling rates at Valletta port were the highest in Europe and hoped these would be cut as a result of the competition ensuing from the award of the tender.

The ministry initially announced that five consortia had bid for the tender but shortly afterwards confirmed an additional one.

Despite being properly addressed, the bid by PD Port Services was delivered by courier to the Merchant Shipping Directorate at Lascaris Wharf on Thursday rather than to the Ports Directorate. However, the package did not specify it was an expression of interest in the port contract, even if the internal package did so.

The package was delivered via internal mail to the proper address at the MMA's ports directorate yesterday at 2.40 p.m.