Bahrain to develop terminal on build-operate-transfer basis

30 November 2010

Land at the old Mina Salman port has been set aside for the development of a construction materials terminal

Bahrain’s General Organisation of Sea Ports (Gop) says it will develop the planned building materials terminal at Mina Salman port on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis.

Mina Salman is the old port in Bahrain and part of the land has been allocated for the development of a terminal that will be used to import building materials. Most operations ceased at Mina Salman following the opening of the new Khalifa bin Salman port in April 2009 (MEED 18:3:10).

Gop has already finalised the masterplan for the new terminal and plans to offer the land to investors in the first half of 2011.

“In the case of Mina Salman land, we will be specifying the requirements and the standards that are required, and the potential bidder would provide his bid in accordance with [these],” says Daij Bin Salman Bin Daij al-Khalifa, chairman of Gop.

“The project will be awarded on a [BOT] basis and the successful bidder will make all the necessary investment and, additionally, pay the Gop the agreed rental and other charges for the land.”

The work will also involve renovating the existing quay wall and building cement silos and storage facilities for sand and aggragates.

Building a dedicated building materials terminal is Gop’s short-term plan to accommodate the future growth in the import of building materials.

In the long-term, the construction of a dedicated port to receive building material imports is planned. However, this plan will not be realised for another five to 10 years as it involves extensive reclamation and building superstructures including buildings, a quay wall and roads, says Al-Khalifa. The masterplan for this project is also complete.

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