28 June 2014, Kampala – Two of the four firms that bid to build the 60,000 barrels-per-day oil refinery in Hoima, Uganda have been dropped, the Ugandan Energy Ministry has said.
A statement from Fred Kabagambe-Kaliisa, the permanent secretary in the ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, noted that proposals from Marubeni Corporation (of Japan) and China Pipeline Petroleum Bureau were dropped after failing to meet the basic requirements.
The drop followed a Request For Proposals (RFP) for the refinery project, which had a deadline for submission of May 30, 2014.
“The RFP required the submission of a bid bond, and detailed technical, financial and commercial plans to develop, finance, build and operate the project in partnership with the GOU (government), among other requirements. The bidders were also required to review and comment on draft principal project agreements,” Kabagambe-Kaliisa said.
The remaining bidders, SK Group led Consortium of South Korea and RT Global Resources led Consortium of Russia, have been invited to the next stage of the bidding process, from which the final winner will be drawn.
“Government will commence negotiations with the two preferred bidders and thereafter issue a request for the Best and Final Offers (“BFO”) document. The two consortia will be expected to submit their respective Best and Final Offers by the end of August 2014,” Kabagambe-Kaliisa concluded.
The refinery project, to be established in Kabaale, Hoima district, is to be built under a public private partnership arrangement, with the government holding 40 per cent equity and the rest going to the winning bidder. It involves developing a 60,000 barrels-per-day refinery and product storage facilities on site, as well as a 205km oil pipeline to Kampala. The first phase of the refinery is expected to be in place by the end of 2017.
– The Observer