Eight weeks for ferry firms to bid for CI routes
The starting gun for a bidding war over the seas of the Channel Islands was fired yesterday as the governments of Guernsey and Jersey launched a formal tender process.
The successful company should be announced by the end of the year.
Interested applicants have to advise the islands by Monday 8 July.
Current operator Condor is expected to have at least one rival for the tender, with Danish ferry company DFDS having held public meetings in both Guernsey and Jersey last month ahead of a prospective bid.
Economic Development Committee president Neil Inder said that the initial market testing phase of the procurement process was complete, which meant that the islands were now inviting formal tenders.
‘We remain on track to complete the overall process and make a final decision before the end of the year, in time for when the current agreement ends,’ he said.
‘This is an open and impartial procurement process being run jointly by Guernsey and Jersey, and we therefore don’t intend to provide an ongoing commentary or engage in speculation while it’s taking place, but we will provide the community with any significant updates as the process continues.’
Jersey’s minister for Sustainable Economic Development Kirsten Morel said that the process would ensure that the best possible freight and passenger services were secured.
‘The islands are working together with the shared objective of finding the operator which can deliver the best service in terms of resilience, reliability, passenger experience and sustainability.’
The joint tender specification is due to be published at channelislandtenders.com.
