Bids submitted in response to a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the Ibom Deep Seaport (IDSP) PPP project have been opened, in a bid opening & evaluation ceremony held in Lagos. 

The ceremony was attended by the executive director of Nigeria's Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC)​, Akwa Ibom state governor, and representatives of the Akwa Ibom Technical Committee for the project, the Federal Ministry of Transportation (FMoT), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Ministerial Project Development Steering Committee (MPDSC).

The PPP project is one of the key initiatives of the FMoT/NPA to rapidly develop port capacity in other parts of Nigeria and alleviate congestion in Lagos. The project also aligns with an industrialization initiative of the Akwa Ibom State Government, as the seaport will form part of the Ibom Industrial City, an integrated industrial city to help foster economic development of the country. 

IDSP will occupy circa 2,565Ha of land area of the 14,517Ha available for the industrial city project. The project site is strategically located and accessible through major existing and planned transport infrastructure such as airport, railway lines, federal and state road networks.

The project is being procured as a PPP based on a master concession award to a Port Development Management Company (PDMC) to be jointly owned by a majority competitively selected PPP Private Sector Partner, NPA/FMoT and Akwa Ibom State government.

The authorities plan to complete bid evaluation and select preferred and reserved bidders before the end of 2018.

The Transaction Adviser of the project is Global Maritime and Port Services Singapore while its Project Manager is PricewaterhouseCooper.