34 parties participate in Puerto Rico Ports Authority RFP videoconference
Some 34 individual, as well as local and international company representatives interested in submitting a Request for Proposals for the Isla Grande dry dock project participated in an informative videoconference sponsored by the Puerto Rico Ports Authority, agency Executive Director Joel A. Pizá-Batiz.
“The videoconference…allowed Ports Authority representatives to address any doubts or concerns that the parties interested in the dry dock might have. We’re very satisfied with the participation and interest shown by the participants, which promises that we will receive a good number of Requests for Proposals before the deadline,” said Pizá-Batiz.
Interested parties have until Oct. 17 to submit their proposals. Once received, a technical committee made up of members of the shipping industry will evaluate them. The RFP document is available on the agency’s website.
On Aug. 17, Ports announced the start of an RFP process for the repair, operation and maintenance of the dry dock located at Pier 15 in Isla Grande. Ports acquired he levee, which was initially built and operated by the U.S. Navy in the early 1940s, in the late 1990s. It has been in disuse since 2000.
The levee measures some 600 feet long, 102 feet wide and 26 feet deep, which positions it “as a unique facility in the entire Caribbean for the repair and maintenance of vessels up to 400 feet long,” Pizá-Batiz said.
“We hope to be able to announce the successful proponent before the end of this year, so that this facility can become operational, and once again be a source of economic activity and jobs for the island,” he said.
