Saleh instructs negotiations with Hutchison Whampoa Ltd [Archives:2007/1062/Front Page]
SANA'A, June, 23 ) President Saleh has issued last month his directives to the Cabinet to start negotiation with the Hong Kong based company, Hutchison Whampoa ltd. to operate Aden Containers Terminal.
The directives came after 2-years of dispute and severe criticism by independent and opposition bodies over the lack of transparency in contracting the Dubai Ports International Company (DBI), which won the tender of operating Aden Container Terminal in December, 2005, under the previous government for the period of 25 to 30 years.
Sources mentioned that president Saleh has approved the third choice within a list of alternatives was submitted by Prime Minister Mujawar, in order to sort out the Aden Container Terminal issue.
Last month, Dr. Mujawar, has enclosed in his letter to the President the outcomes of the last negotiations with DBI along with four alternatives from which the president selected to go for the Hong Kong based company, which transfers 50 million containers per year, while DBI transfers 8 million containers per year.
According to Al Nedaa newspaper, Dr. Mujawar explained that the Chinese company has applied to the tender but withdrew for unknown reasons. “It's better to open the door in front of all interested reputable international companies including DBI and transparently analyze their applications and select the best offer” the Prime Minister pointed out in his letter.
The four alternatives that Mujawar's letter included were; accepting the last offer by DBI which speculates that Yemen shall receive 50% of the pure profits, but he warned that selecting this choice is against the tender conditions and the criteria, which were announced, will hold Yemen responsible before the two competing companies.
The second choice was to cancel the current tender and re-advertise for a new tender but again he stated that Yemen would risk its reputation in the event of a new tender. These risks represented in the unlikely chance to get better offer than what the three current companies offered and the negative role that DBI may play as a result of canceling its application.
The third choice which President Saleh approved was to start negotiation with the Chinese Company. However, the fourth choice was to cancel the current tender, therefore, the government undertakes the implementation of the first construction phase with a capital of USD 120 millions as state-financed or through loans from national banks.
It is worth mentioning that the DBI Company has involved in a hot competition with other two companies, one of them is Kuwaiti company, before wining the tender after which it received a wide media criticism by local press. As a result, the government has transferred the whole agreement to the parliament to be ratified. Sources also confirmed that the presidential decision to abandon the agreement with DBI comes to avoid the tension of the press and the public due to the obvious defects in the agreement.
Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH) is the world's leading port investor. It operates Africa's, Middle-east's, America's, Asia's, and Europe's busiest ports, handling more than 13% of the world's container traffic.
Additionally, it operates ports in Oman, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Tanzania, among other locations in the world, bringing its worldwide total of ports to a staggering 136.
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