Port of Klaipėda launches tender to select tenants for the new southern port area

The Klaipėda State Seaport Authority this week launched a tender to select investors (operators) for the development of the southern port area. The aim is to select future tenants who will work with the Port Authority to deliver an investment project worth more than €1 billion. The development will create new opportunities to strengthen the competitiveness of the Port of Klaipėda and Lithuania. It is the port’s largest development project since Lithuania regained independence.

Experts from Ellex Lithuania and Ernst & Young Baltic advised the Port Authority on preparing the tender documentation, conducting economic assessments and establishing the legal, commercial and financial terms.

The Ellex Lithuania team helped develop the legal framework for selecting investors for one of Lithuania’s largest infrastructure projects. Our work included shaping the selection strategy and legal model, structuring the competitive dialogue procedure, and drafting the tender documentation and key terms of the long-term port land lease agreement. We also advised on the regulatory framework, investor commitments, and the allocation of investment responsibilities and risks between the Port Authority and future operators.

The Ellex Lithuania team working on the project included Miglė Davlidovičiūtė, Karolis Kačerauskas, Šarūnas Neniškis, Audrius Petkevičius, Ramūnas Petravičius and Karolis Šimanskis.

As part of the project, the Port Authority will develop 100 hectares of new land and construct approximately 1.3 km of new quays. The works will also include deepening the section of the shipping channel in the southern port area, creating a vessel turning basin with a diameter of 600 metres, and providing road and rail access. The estimated cost of these works is approximately €600 million. The tender seeks to attract companies from Lithuania and abroad, which will enter into 50-year agreements to lease the land and operate in the new southern port area.

Participants may bid to lease either the entire site or a portion suited to their operations. Each bidder will offer an initial financial contribution calculated proportionately to the quay length and land area they wish to lease. Applications and initial proposals will be submitted through the DealLink electronic platform. Further details about the tender and its stages can be found here.