Alabama State Port Authority gets 3 suitors for Bulk Material Handling Plant partnership
Published: Wednesday, March 30, 2011, 12:49 PM Updated: Wednesday, March 30, 2011, 12:49 PM
MOBILE, Ala. -- The Alabama State Port Authority got three bids from companies interested in leasing its Bulk Material Handling Plant, and will pursue negotiations with two of the companies, according to Port Authority Director Jimmy Lyons.
Confidentiality agreements prohibited Lyons from identifying the companies are or what they plan to do, he said.
Authority members sought out the private sector for help running the facility earlier this year, after determining that recent capital projects meant the authority couldn't take on the debt needed to make necessary upgrades there.
One of the bids was not good enough to warrant further attention, Lyons said. Lyons said neither of the other two bids would be acceptable in their current forms, but he hopes negotiations could produce an agreement that would work for the port.
He said that he expects to make a decision in 30 to 60 days.
"It's not anything I want to do quickly," he said. "It's a significant commitment to lease a facility long-term. We have to make sure it's in the best interest of us and the users of the port, and that it's in the long-term interest of the state."
