No bidders came forward in the international public tender for the construction and concession of the new container terminal at Portugal´s Port of Sines.
According to the chairman of the board of directors of the Port of Sines, José Luís Cacho, the international tender ended without any proposal for investment, despite previous interest from Chinese and Japanese companies.
We must not forget that this is a totally private investment, which needs a stable and favorable economic context in order to be able to move forward”, stressed the administrator, quoted by the Portuguese press.
The covid-19 pandemic, he added, “has been having adverse repercussions on the economy” and created “an unfavorable context” for the tender.
The public tender for the Vasco da Gama Terminal, in a private investment of around 642 million euros, was launched in October 2019.
The deadline for submission of proposals was initially scheduled for June 13, 2020, but the date was extended until April 2021, due to the context of instability caused by the covid-19 pandemic.
Portuguese Port of Sines delays new EUR 600 million terminal project for 1 year
According to José Luís Cacho, the Administration of the Ports of Sines and the Algarve (APS) is now analyzing, together with the Government, “aspects that can be improved” in the tender.
“It was a tender with some rigidity in relation to the timing of investments throughout the concession period,” he said.
The administrator said that it is necessary to make the international tender “a little more attractive” so that, as soon as “market conditions” are met, it is possible to “open again” the process “so that the terminal is a success”.
