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A consortium of Bolloré Africa Logistics and PowerChina International Group has been named the preferred bidder for the Ibom Deep Seaport Project (IDSP) in Nigeria. This involves the development of a 2,565-hectare greenfield port area located in the south-east of Akwa Ibom State. The total estimated investment is US$4.2 billion.

The IDSP PPP procurement was approved by Nigeria's Federal Executive Council in May 2015. A Request for Qualification (RFQ) was issued in January 2018. A total of eight RFQ applications were received, out of which three applicants were shortlisted as bidders to proceed to the Request for Proposal (RFP) stage.

The RFP was issued in April 2018 and closed in September 2018. The bids received were evaluated by the IDSP Ministerial Project Development and Steering Committee (MPDSC). China Harbour Engineering Company emerged as the reserved bidder.

The project will now proceed to the next stage of the procurement process, which is negotiation with the Bolloré-PowerChina consortium with the view to work out the investment and concession details.

The IDSP is designed to berth New Panamax Class vessels with channel depth (18.24m); turning basin and berth depth (16.72m); and quay length of about 7.5 km upon completion. It will handle containers, petroleum products (export and import), crude oil and natural gas (export), vehicles (import) and bulk trade in natural resources (import and export).

Operations are expected to commence in 2021, with the port intended to become a major national and regional economic gateway, serving the cargo handling demand of other West and Central African countries.

It will be integrated within the Ibom Industrial City, a Free Trade Zone with numerous fiscal incentives, to be established on a 14,400 hectare site donated by the Akwa Ibom State Government.