On Wednesday, Harland & Wolff Group Holdings PLC, the preferred bidder status for the Falkland Islands Port Replacement Project, moved to reassure investors as it responded to what it considers to be a misleading and inaccurate article published in The Times, as reported by Alliance News.
A tender was launched on July 10 for a new port facility for the Falkland Islands, following previous iterations of plans being deemed too costly. The tender is for a floating dock location, to be located in the same location as FIPASS, the current port facility.
Following the meeting of Executive Council on Tuesday 25 April it was agreed to extend the contract between the Falkland Islands Government (FIG) and Atlink for the management services to FIPASS until February 2028.
Following the recent Falkland Islands' Executive Council decision not to proceed with the new port facility construction as tendered by BAM, Members of the Legislative Assembly are committed to ensuring that the facilities at the current FIPASS port terminal continue to function while options in respect of the future operational requirements for the facilities at the location are examined.
The second phase of the development of the Falklands' new port facility is not to go ahead due to an “increase in costs” according to the Falklands Government, FIG.
The Falkland Islands Planning and Building Committee (PBC) has recommended, unanimously, that the current plans for the new port to be refused by Executive Council. Following the decision the committee adjourned to provide written reasons, --environmental and shortcomings--, to Executive Council (ExCo) for consideration when making the final decision whether to accept or not.
Falkland Island lawmaker, MLA Roger Edwards, portfolio holder for Public Works spoke about the ongoing project for the new port to replace FIPASS, (Falklands Interim Port and Storage System) and the resources it will require, among which some 900,000 tons of stone.
The planned new port for the Falkland Islands to be constructed at Stanley Harbor was analyzed during a presentation this week to members of the public in the Town Hall, by a team from BAM Nuttall and Royal Haskoning, the companies responsible for the planning and construction of the project.
The Falkland Islands Planning and Building Committee unanimously approved a planning application for ground investigations at FIPASS and Stanley Growers as part of the preparations for the new port project.
British contractor BAM Nuttall is set to start work at the end of this month on a new port for the Falklands Islands. The existing facilities will be replaced. BAM Nuttall was chosen by the Falkland Islands Government (FIG) in February to carry out the design and build contract for the new port. The contract was signed in early April but was suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic.