A procurement process undertaken by Thanet District Council to identify a concession operator for the Port of Ramsgate concluded today (Tuesday 28 January) with no contract being awarded.
A multi-stage procurement process began in August 2024, with the aim of attracting an operator for the port.
An operator would be responsible for running a substantial part of the Port of Ramsgate, including 17.8 acres of port land and the two roll-on roll-off (ro-ro) ferry berths.
Bidders were invited via an open procurement process to submit an initial tender for consideration. Despite a successful initial tender stage in November, the council has been unable to take discussions beyond the dialogue stage and therefore has not offered a contract via this process.
The Port of Ramsgate hosted scheduled cross channel operations between 1981 and 2013. More recently the port hosted the ad hoc arrival of trade car vessels from Zeebrugge until 2020. Although there are currently no cross channel services from Ramsgate, the port remains open with established wind farm and aggregates operations based there.
Following a Cabinet decision in March 2023, the council has been actively seeking a concession operator to run a substantial part of the Port. This is to establish a multi-purpose Port, allowing the existing wind farm and aggregates operations to continue alongside a new cross channel port operator and the planned Green Campus building. This set up would give the council control over how the port is managed by each of the commercial entities operating from the port, whilst reducing the levels of risk and responsibility.
Levelling Up Funding has been allocated to improving the infrastructure at the Port of Ramsgate. Of this, a grant of £4.5m was to be made available to the prospective concessionaire, as a contribution to the delivery of capital works at the Port.
In the immediate future, the council will continue to explore the options for establishing a port operator concession and will renew discussions with government about potential funding opportunities now that the agreed procurement process has ended.
As identified in the July 2024 Cabinet report, work in tandem will continue to explore alternative options for other maritime sector opportunities.
A further report will be brought to Cabinet in the coming months to formally agree the way forward.
