Cyprus receives 14 bids for port privatization

Cyprus received 14 bids for the commercialization of the port of the southern city of Limassol, the Ministry of Transport said on Thursday.

A statement said six proposals were received for the Container Terminal, three for the Marine Services and five for the Multipurpose Terminal.

The privatization of the commercial operations of ports was stipulated in a three-year 10 billion euros (10.83 billion U.S. dollars) financial assistance program offered by the Eurogroup and the International Monetary Fund in March 2013.

The submission of bids followed a successful round of due diligence and two rounds of consultations with pre-qualified bidders.

"The project of the commercialization of the port of Limassol now enters its next phase of detailed review and evaluation of the bids which is expected to take a few weeks," a Ministry of Transport statement said.

In line with the original timetable of the project, successful bidders are expected to be announced before the end of the first quarter this year.

Parliament's approval is required before agreements with successful bidders are signed.

Transport Ministry Permanent Secretary Alecos Michaelides said no further announcements would be made before the preferred bidders are selected.

He said that the ministry is satisfied both by the number of participants and the quality of operators that submitted bids.

"They are financially sound companies, internationally recognized for their experience in operating similar terminals and services. Our vision is to transform the Limassol Port into a gateway to development for the future," Michaelides added.

He said the evaluation of the submissions is under way. Endit