Israel Ports Development & Assets Company Ltd. (IPC) reported that four international companies, involved in port operations, have passed the preliminary selection stages are in the running for operating two new ports in Israel, the Bay Port in Haifa and the South Ashdod Port.
The request for proposal (RFP) documents are for a 25-year operating period. As part of their bids, the companies will have to submit a business plan, price bid, operating methods, and environmentally friendly operation.
The deadline for submitting bids is the end of November 2014, and selection of the winning group is slated for the first quarter of 2015. The four companies are: Dutch company Terminal Investment Ltd (TIL), a subsidiary of Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC); Germany’s Eurogate, an operator of container terminals in Europe; Philippines-based International Container Terminal Services Inc (ICTSI) and China’s Shanghai International Port Group.
The four companies have now received tender documents from Israel Ports Co relating to the 25-year operation of the Bay Port in Haifa and the South Ashdod Port. Should one of the bidders win the tender to operate both ports, it will have to choose between them.
“The inclusion of competing private operating companies in the Israeli ports sector will bring Israel’s ports up to the same level as modern ports around the world that operate on a competitive model,” said Israel Ports Co CEO Shlomo Brieman. “These companies have high service levels by international standards, to which the importers, exporters, shippers, and those dealing in foreign trade are entitled.”
The bid submission deadline is the end of November 2014.
