NPA Seeks ICRC Support To Review Ports Franchise Agreement

The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has required the support of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) in reviewing the concession agreements of ports in Nigeria so as to boost activities at the ports; thereby giving room for better ports operations and more investor participation.

NPA Managing Director, Habib Abdullahi, made the appeal yesterday in Abuja during a meeting with the Director-General of the ICRC, Aminu Dikko. He also said that the development of access roads to the Lekki Deep Seaport project would ease business transactions.

Abdullahi also mentioned that the NPA intended to liaise with the ICRC and other stakeholders to develop fisheries at the Kirikiri Lighter Terminal 2, turning it into a modern fishing terminal. He also appealed for the dredging and maintenance of water channels at the Calabar and Warri ports via the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) approach.

Habib Abdullahi also noted that agricultural exportation could be achieved with ease through the ports if there were rail lines to help in transporting agricultural produce to the port terminals while also suggesting that the ports could be decongested of containers by using them to export solid minerals and agricultural produce to other parts of the world.

On the other hand, Dikko promised to fully support the NPA in its drive to achieve its set goals. He ,however, said the ports master must have a workable master plan which would inform investors on the activities of the agency and the nation as a whole and guide them on what to invest in, so as to enable a holistic approach in tackling issues related to ports in Nigeria.

He applauded the NPA for setting up a PPP unit and assured that the ICRC would help build the capacity of staff in the department.