The deadline for submitting proposals for the concession to design, develop, finance, construct, operate and maintain a container terminal located near Corozal has expired with no bids received, the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) said.
As a result, the tender has been declared void.
Under the terms of the tender, four prequalified port operators including Dutch APM Terminals and Terminal Investment Limited, France’s Terminal Link and Singapore-based PSA International were expected to submit the required specifications and economic proposals until March 3 in order to compete for the 20-year concession of the facility.
The deadline was extended on two occasions in an effort to give the companies enough time to prepare their bids.
The concession would include the construction of a 2,081-linear-meter dock, a warehouse, a container yard and offices within a 120-hectare area owned by the Panama Canal.
As part of the Panama Canal’s diversification strategy, the new terminal was supposed to provide additional port capacity on the Pacific side of Panama in order to support transshipment needs of larger ships traversing the waterway.
The plan envisaged that the container terminal would have the capacity to handle more than five million TEUs at the canal’s entrance on the Pacific side.