Request for Qualification for the Selection of Concessionaires of the Delineated Bitumen Blocks

The ‘Nigerian bitumen belt’ lies on the onshore part of the Dahomey Basin in the southwestern part of the country, straddling Lagos through Ogun and Ondo to Edo States. The Nigerian bitumen belt is reportedly the second largest of such deposit in the world with a reserve estimates ranging from at least 13 to 42 billion barrels. The area has been divided into three main blocks (A, B, and C) for ease of transaction and management.

The intention of the FGN is to ensure that Nigeria’s bitumen resources are fully harnessed for domestic industrial/infrastructural development as well as export. It is expected that this initiative will create jobs and develop local industries though a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement. The construction industry, particularly the road construction sector, is a major driver of bitumen demand both locally and internationally. Bitumen is a key component of asphalt that is used in road construction. Currently, the total national road network in Nigeria is approximately 200 000 km. Only about 65 000km of the 200 000 km are paved mostly in bituminous layers, others are earth roads. Out of this, the Federal Government owns approximately 35 000 km, representing 54% of the entire bituminous road network in Nigeria.

The Highway Development and Management Initiative (HDMI) programme will facilitate the development of parts of Nigeria’s 35 000 km of federal highway network through the concession of 12 major roads under the scheme, covering the six geopolitical zones of the country. HDMI will boost regional interconnectivity between the West African nations connecting Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, to Lagos, Nigeria, passing through Ghana, Benin, and Togo. According to the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is expected to increase intra-African trade in transport services by nearly 50%, Africa’s road network is inadequate but implementing planned projects will significantly increase its size. The largest demand for trucks to support AfCFTA is within West Africa estimated at 39%; demand from West to Southern Africa is 19.8% and from Southern Africa to Western Africa by 9.9%. This will present increased demand for road infrastructure and increased pressure on the existing road network thereby driving increased demand for asphalt for road construction and maintenance.

Accordingly, the FGN has commenced the process of concessioning its delineated bitumen blocks through a transparent and competitive bidding process. To this end, The FGN requests for qualification (RFQ) for the selection of concessionaires of the delineated bitumen blocks. The RFQ Package will be available to interested applicants upon registration at https://bitumen.ngsa.gov.ng. Applicants are expected to prepare RFQ Application using the available forms without any alteration to its format.

Further to the above, we are pleased to invite applicants to a virtual clarification session scheduled to be held as follows:

Date: Tuesday 19 July 2022

Time: 3pm West African Africa Time (GMT +1)

Registration Link: https://bit.ly/3OSlrQv

The clarification session will provide an opportunity to create awareness amongst critical stakeholders and the local and international mining/bitumen investment community, in addition to addressing any queries on the RFQ package and the overall bitumen concession programme.

For further information, please reach out to PricewaterhouseCoopers, Transaction Advisers/Program Management, via email on ng_mmsd_bitumenlicenseprocurement@pwc.com.

Click here to access the Virtual Session Clarification Document.

Click here to access the RFQ Advert.

Delineated Bitumen Sub-blocks with Area Dimensions

Read the article online at: https://www.globalminingreview.com/special-reports/05072022/request-for-qualification-for-the-selection-of-concessionaires-of-the-delineated-bitumen-blocks/