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Lekki Deep Seaport to handle bigger ships, create jobs – Umar

By BusinessNews Staff on April 5, 2014

The Lekki deep seaport will not only handle bigger ships calling in the Nigerian ports but also create employment opportunities for Nigerians, the Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar has said.

The Federal Government had during the sitting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) late last year approved the construction of the multibillion naira deep seaport situated in Lagos.

The deep seaport is expected to ease the present bottlenecks associated the existing ports, particularly the ones in Lagos which has been experiencing congestion in recent times.

Umar who stated this at the just concluded 12th Intermodal Africa 2014 exhibition and conference which took place in Lagos said the objectives of FEC approving the development of the Lekki deep seaport remain sacrosanct.

“The port is to be developed under public private partnership (PPP) initiative. Other proposed deep seaports are Ibaka deep seaport in Akwa Ibom State; Badagary deep seaport in Lagos; Olokola deep seaport in Ogun and Ondo States; Ogidigbe, near Escravos in Delta State which is expected to be the hub for gas revolution initiative of the federal government and Agge deep seaport in Bayelsa State. The process for the realisation of these ports are at various stages,” he said.

The minister said the federal government remains committed to the resuscitation of the Calabar port access channel.

Said he: “As you are aware, government had earlier approved the establishment of Calabar Channel Management Company, a joint venture between the Nigerian Ports Authority and Messrs. Niger Global Limited in order to guarantee the sustainability of the Calabar Channel. This Joint Venture arrangement is similar to the ongoing Lagos and Bonny Channel Management Companies that are effectively maintaining and managing the channels.”

The Federal Government has reiterated its commitment to strengthen the nation’s maritime development and give it a boost amongst other Africa countries.

On intermodal system, Umar said government is set to ensure that the nation’s intermodal transport system is of global best practices with active participation of the private investors.

Said he: “l assure participants of this forum of the federal government unflinching focus to provide the enabling environment for massive private sector investments in deepening and developing the maritime sector”.

The conference which witnessed the participation of four continents spanning over 22 countries is structured at improving the intermodal and cross border logistics in the whole of Africa.

His words: “The maritime sector remains a key sector of the economy, whose enormous potentials deserves continuous harnessing in order to meet the expectations of government and the citizenry. Over the last two years, Nigeria has been carrying out a number of reform measures aimed at enhancing the operational efficiency in the various ports.

“For instance 24 hours operation has been achieved in the Lagos ports where more than 60 percent of our port activities take place. For the long term, the federal government is making concerted efforts towards ensuring the development of deep seaports in the country. This is the ultimate solution to the current port congestion as the cargo handling are presently beyond their designed capacities.”

He assured participants of the conference government’s focus on providing enabling environment for massive private sector investments in deepening and developing the maritime sector.

He further said that the nation appreciates the special development needs of the landlocked countries in establishing a sustainable transport system.

The Minister also said a draft memorandum of understanding (MOU) is being considered by the government to facilitate the clearance of Niger Republic bound cargo through Nigerian seaports.

The Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Alhaji Habibu Abdullahi had earlier in his welcome address urged local investors to use the forum to strategise and network.

“I will advise the local investors to see this as an opportunity. They should also use the advantage to network with other participants in the conference”, he said.
He disclosed that the intermodal conference is holding in Nigeria for the first time.
According to him, Nigeria’s port concession exercise carried out in 2006 has been hugely successful, boosting operation and development of the nation’s seaports.

[Punch]

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