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WE HAVE MADE SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS TOWARDS THE REALIZATION OF IBOM DEEP SEAPORT – AKAN OKON

By Darlington UDOBONG

Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Housing and Special Duties, Mr. Akan Okon, said there has been significant progress towards the realization of Ibom Deep Seaport, a project that was initiated over 10 years ago by the Godswill Akpabio’s administration.
Mr. Okon, who briefed journalists at the Ibom International Airport on arrival from an official trip abroad, “Like I have always said, the Ibom Seaport project is not just like building a bungalow, there are a lot of processes that are involve. We are following international best practices and due process in ensuring that we have the right caliber of people that will come and develop the Seaport for the benefit of our people. I want to thank Governor Udom Emmanuel for what he has done because upon resumption of office, he put in place the Ibom Deep Seaport Realization Committee that is made up of seasoned professionals with proven experience in the maritime industry and they have been able to push this project to where it is right now. I want to also commend the chairperson of the Committee, Mrs. Mfon Usoro, a former Director General of the National Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NAMASA). She has brought to bear her contacts in ensuring that we got to the stage that we are in this project. I can boldly tell you that we have made significant progress towards the realization of the Seaport.”
“The Request for Qualification (RFQ) for Ibom Deep Seaport was published on the 8th of January for interested developers to bid for it and by 12midnight today, that request will be closed. By next week there is going to be a bid opening for all the people that have taken part and after that, it will be followed by evaluation by the Evaluation Committee,” he explained.
Explaining further on the procurement approval received from the Federal Government sometime ago, the Commissioner said, “This is the procurement that we are talking about. It begins with Request for Qualification (RFQ). People are going to bid for it and when the bids are opened and evaluated, we will then issue a Request for Financial Proposal (RFP). And when the RFP is opened and evaluated, we will take a decision on who the preferred bidder is. So, this is the procurement process.”
When asked on the level of participation and leverage given to local contents, Mr. Okon said “The Request for Qualification is mostly done on a consortium basis and that notwithstanding, it is open for all and if we have the local people with capacity, they can also take advantage of it. But like I said, Ibom Deep Seaport is not an Akwa Ibom seaport project but an international project that will significantly touch the lives of the people of the state when it is functional. So, when it is functional, it will take care of the local contents like employment and the rest but for now, we are looking at investors and seaport developers.”
On the response of expression of interest, he said “The response has been very encouraging and I can tell you, the interest is enormous. By the time the window closes today, we will be able to tell you exactly how many people have submitted their request. I know as at the beginning of this week, we had over 150 downloads but I cannot say for sure how many of those downloads will meet the requirement to submit. By the close of today, we will be able to tell that.”

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