The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has announced a $1 billion reconstruction plan for Tincan Island, Apapa, Rivers, Onne, Warri, and Calabar port complexes.
The NPA also allocated funds for similar reconstruction as part of the new port development plan for the Badagry deep seaport, Snake Island, Burutu, and Ondo deep seaports.
The plans were disclosed on Wednesday, in a document titled ‘Consolidation of Superior Performance at the Nigerian Ports Authority 2023 — A Synopsis of the Authority’s Performance Improvement 2022-2023’.
On September 4, 2023, Adegboyega Oyetola, minister of marine and blue economy, had said terminal operators would be engaged in the reconstruction of ports, as they are “almost collapsing”.
Oyetola said he was deeply concerned about the deplorable condition of infrastructure at the ports.
Speaking further about plans for the country’s ports, the NPA, in the document, said it has implemented the port community system (PCS) and the national single window to improve their competitiveness.
The NPA also said despite global economic challenges in 2023, Mohammed Koko, its managing director, succeeded in elevating Nigeria’s primary trade facilitation platform to exceed its exceptional performance in 2022.
The agency said implementing measures to improve performance led to record-breaking revenue generation and remittances to the consolidated revenue fund (CRF) of the federation, with revenues increasing steadily from N361 billion in 2022 to N501 billion by December 2023.
In addition, the port authority said it will turn its strategic goal of becoming the leading maritime logistics hub for sustainable port services in Africa into a reality.
SOURCE: Cable News