The Ethiopian Shipping and Logistics Services Enterprise’s (ESLSE) concludes a technical evaluation of bidders for the procurement of 150 heavy duty trucks. Currently newly procured 38 trucks are being transported from China to expand the cross border movement.
The logistics giant that procured 150 general trucks last budget year with the total cost of 11 million dollars has allocated its own budget to procure additional 38 trucks directly from the prominent Chinese manufacturer, Jinan Sinotruck Co.
The Chinese company won the bid to supply the 150 Sinotrucks last year, and the new purchasing value rate is similar with that of last year’s price, which means about USD 73,000 per a single truck.
Roba Megersa, CEO of ESLSE, said that as per the procurement rule the enterprise shall buy on free order up to 25 percent of the volume that it bought from last year’s process, “due to that we enabled to buy 38 trucks as per 25 percent direct procurement cap.”
Wondimu Denbu, Deputy CEO for Corporate Service, told Capital that the new coming trucks have started their voyage early this week and are expected to arrive in Ethiopia in the coming few weeks.
Wondimu said that the trucks will be assembled in Ethiopia un-like the previous experience. The 150 brand new trucks were assembled at the port site in Djibouti, while these coming trucks assembly will be carried on in Ethiopia.
Roba told Capital that the arrival of the new trucks shall ease the dispatch activity of the state enterprise that is the sole multimodal operator in the country.
“The new trucks will get in the traffic as soon as possible to accelerate the outgoing and incoming cargos like fertilizer and other bulk consignments,” Roba explained.
On the initiative embarked by Ministry of Transport and Logistics that gave an opportunity for 168 transport companies to import 3,200 general cargo trucks through differed letter of credit (LC) ESLSE has engaged on the bidding process to buy its quota.
“As per the approval from the ministry we are on the procurement process to buy 150 trucks on different LC,” the CEO said, adding, “meanwhile our demand is to get over 300 brand new general cargo trucks thus we are using the opportunity offered by the government.”
Wondimu said that the technical evaluation of the biding process has finalized this week and the next step will be the financial evaluation.
He said that as per the differed LC scheme the enterprise has opened the LC by 30 percent of the procurement value and the balance will be paid in the coming two years time. The government has given the guarantee for the payment that will be settled in the timeframe given by the scheme.
Currently, ESLSE has 450 operation heavy duty trucks and the new coming 38 trucks will increase the number to 488.
About five years ago, 215 trucks were purchased from the French automotive company, Renault Trucks. As the norm of ESLSE, the new coming trucks will allow the enterprise to exclude the long serving and economically inefficient trucks from its cross border operation.