Mr Kwaku Asiamah (second from left) speaking at the conference.With him are Mr Titus Glover (left) and Mr David Ofosu Dorte (right).
Six companies have been shortlisted to participate in the bidding process to partner government for the development of the Tema Shipyard and Dry-Dock.
They include Dormac Marine & Engineering, Ladol Freezone Enterprise, Secant Technologies, Submarine Holding Limited, Strategic Security Systems and Life Forms Limited.
They were shortlisted following the Joint Project Transaction Committee’s evaluation of investor qualification statements submitted by 20 interested firms.
At a pre-proposal conference for the selection of an investor for the project in Accra yesterday, Minister of Transport, Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, said the project was to transform the Tema Shipyard and Dry-Dock into a modern and world class facility to undertake ship building, ship repair and fabrication.
The shipyard, which was built in the 1960s, he said was designed to promote the aluminum and related fabrication industry, and function in the areas of fabrication, ship repair and shipbuilding through the use of aluminum products among others, when the it became fully operational.
In 2012, the minister stated that government was compelled to buy-back majority shares in the shipyard it had sold to Malaysian company, Penang/Boustead Limited , in 1996 due to the company’s failure to develop the facility to the required state.
As part of government’s plans in developing an integrated bauxite and aluminum sector, Mr Asiamah said the shipyard was a strategic national asset that would be upgraded and equipped into a modern facility which would be able to contribute to the growth of the integrated bauxite as well as the oil and gas industries.
He said in line with Section (40) of the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) Act, the government was soliciting for a private sector partner in upgrading and developing the shipyard.
“It is the expectation of government that the private partner that would be selected at the end of the solicitation process would partner government to bring about the needed technology and investment that would eventually lead to the scale up facilities at the yard,” he added.
With a growing oil and gas industry in the country, the shipyard, the minister said was well positioned to take advantage of opportunities and help to promote local content and improve Ghana’s competitiveness in West Africa’s offshore oil and gas industry.
Transaction Advisor, David Ofosu-Dorte, said the solicitation process would be completed on November 2, this year, after which the government would make a final decision on the strategic investor.
The conference, he said, would afford bidders the platform to seek clarification on the process and know at firsthand the current state of the facility.
By Claude Nyarko Adams and Evangel Kelvin Ainoo
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