Onitsha River Port Concession to Connect Lagos to Southeast, Others, Generate N50bn, Says ICRC
- The Onitsha River Port will soon serve as an alternative source of transporting goods to the southeast from Lagos
- This is as the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission says it is committed to ensuring operations begin fully
- The facility is expected to create thousands of direct and indirect jobs while facilitating more efficient trade within the country
FCT, Abuja - The Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) has said that the Onitsha River Port will serve as an alternative source of transporting goods to the southeast from Lagos state, Port Harcourt in Rivers state, and other areas with adequate water connectivity.
A statement sent to Legit.ng by Manji Yarling, head of media and publicity at the ICRC, noted that the 30-year concession, approved by the Federal Executive Council, under a Rehabilitate-Operate and Transfer (ROT) arrangement, targets a revenue generation of N50 billion.
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The approval followed a detailed process under the regulatory guidance of the ICRC which commenced in 2011 with support from the World Bank.
Legit.ng gathered that the Onitsha River Port was officially opened over three (3) decades ago but has been neglected and not been optimally utilized.
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It is one of the 4 River Ports in the country with others situated in Lokoja, Kogi state; Baro in Niger state, and Oguta in Imo state.
Part of the statement read:
“This concession is part of the bigger federal government’s plan to concession the remaining river ports and enhance inland waterways transportation in the country.
“The 30-year concession is expected to generate over N50 billion to the federal government and create thousands of direct and indirect jobs while facilitating more efficient trade within the country through a cheaper, easier, and cleaner method of transporting goods and services.
“The port is equipped to deal with general cargo such as containers, bulk cargo and other packaged freight. The port has a land area of over 12 hectares.
“The wharf is 324 meters long with a further provision for additional expansion of 234 meters. The port also has facilities such as storage workshops and parking areas to cater for operations.”
ICRC moves to re-energize six dry ports concessions in Nigeria
Meanwhile, in a bid to get the six Inland Container Depots (ICDs) located in each of the geo-political zones of Nigeria to become operational, the ICRC recently held a meeting with the Nigerian Shippers’ Council who are the owners of the project and the concessionaires.
The meeting, which was at the instance of the ICRC, sought to find solutions to the factors hindering the completion of the dry ports whose contracts were signed since 2006.
Acting Director-General of the commission, Michael Ohiani, who declared the meeting open, stressed that 16 years after the concession contracts were signed, some of the ICDs were still at 5% completion while only two had gotten to 55% and 68%, hence the need for the meeting.
ICRC insists on safety of vehicles at Lagos airport car park
In a related development, following recent media reports on the incidence of vehicle vandalism at the car park of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, the management of the ICRC recently visited the multi-level parking facility.
The team led by Ohiani visited the facility which was described in some reports as ‘a den of thieves.’
The visit was a joint monitoring inspection by the commission and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria to assess the safety situation of vehicles parked by the general public.
Source: Legit.ng
