NPA lists infrastructural projects for renovation in Eastern ports
The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) Eastern Ports have listed some vital infrastructural projects that must be catered for in the 2017 budgetary allocation in order to enable ease of doing business at the port.
Business activities in the four seaports in the South-South region popularly known as Eastern port that include Calabar, Rivers, Delta and Onne ports, are limited by shortfall in the supply of marine infrastructure such as shallow or low draught of the water channels, which forestall big oceangoing vessels from calling the port; security concern due to the activities of sea robbers and pirates and poor road infrastructure.
As a result, shipping lines that use smaller vessels to ferry cargoes in bits pay extra amount of money, which is usually transferred to the final consumers of the imports by increased prices of goods in the market.
Abdullahi Goje, general manager, NPA Eastern Ports, who presented the list in Port Harcourt to members of the Senate Committee on Marine Transport, who were on oversight visit to the ports, said that there was urgent need for a total renovation of most of the decaying infrastructures that are posing serious threat to efficient port operation in the region.
According to him, the Eastern Ports Headquarters of the NPA in Port Harcourt requires urgent overhauling to a befitting status, while berths 5,6,7 and 8 concessioned to BUA Terminal in Port Harcourt ports also require urgent attention.
Other infrastructures include Abonema Marine Police jetty, Port Harcourt; perimeter fencing and rehabilitation of the Bonny Radio/Signal Station; capital and maintenance dredging of the three-pilotage districts.
According to him, there are cases of infrastructure decay in ports especially in the areas like collapsed berths; lack of protocol and operational vehicles and craft for effective monitoring of jetty operations; lack of finger mooring jetty to berth NPA craft in Bonny Island; dearth of pilot cutters and lack of fire hydrants at the quay wall, were the infrastructure that requires funds to provide, so that the port would function properly.
Goje further stated that NPA is also required to dredge the water channels to 10 meters draught to provide effective towage service, rehabilitation of Escravos Light House and Pilot Cutters; removal of wrecks to aid navigation and provide adequate security in the port and channels.
Goje also noted that there is need to install a modern electronic system in all the Port locations to discourage unnecessary and unwanted movements to and from the terminals and jetties. He called for a review of the GMT and lease agreements due to the fact that most of the private terminal operators were not meeting up with expectations in line with the concession agreement.
The NPA boss also requested to have full control and monitoring of the private jetties operations by installing some flow meters before issuing operating licenses to them.
Goje, who said that NPA has only one functional tugboat, emphasised the need for an additional boat for effective operation. There is only one aged pilot cutter and we need two additional pilot cutters to work properly. He, however, solicited the support of the Senators in the passage of 2017 budget so as to be able to address the listed problems.
Reacting to this, Ahmed Sanni Yerimah, chairman of the Senate Committee of Marine Transport, told journalists, that the visit, which covered Lagos and Port Harcourt ports, was to ascertain the level of performance of the NPA and the companies that work with them. The visit was also aimed at determining the progress and challenges recorded within the approved budgetary allocation, and to ensure that revenue due to government is also remitted into the Federation coffers.
“We will make provision for NPA in the coming budget to enable them discharge their responsibilities as required. We discovered that the relationship between NPA and some terminal operators is not as it should be because some terminals are not complaining with the law but we are going deep into this by referring any of such cases to the investigative committee, which the vice chairman of this committee is also part of,” he explained.
On the other hand, the committee chairman confirmed that the terminal operators have also complained that business is down due to recession and security challenges in the waterways. Once the recession is over, businesses will open up and more investors will come to ports like Onne because oil and gas business is located in Onne port and we are sure that business will soon pick up.
Concession agreement, he noted, covers not only revenue generation but also includes provision of road. “We raised objection to the road we saw at one terminal in Rivers Port and this shows that some concessionaires do not do what is expected of them and the concession agreement is supposed to be reviewed every two years but surprisingly, the agreement has not been reviewed in the past 10 years and we have a mandate to cancel any non-performing agreement. In addition, members of the Senate Committee visited terminals in Onne and Port Harcourt.
Uzoamaka Anagor-Ewuzie