Transport Minister’s Visit to Lagos: NPA Says Details of Renewed Port Concession Agreements Ready
L-R: Minister of Transportation, Muazu Jaji Sambo, Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Mrs Magdalene Ajani, Managing Director of NPA, Mohammed Bello-Koko and his Executive Director Marine and Operations, Onari Brown during Sambo's visit to Lagos ports on Friday
By DAPO OLAWUNI
Even as the Minister of Transportation, Eng Muazu Jaji Sambo visited Lagos on Friday to ascertain the functionality of the Lagos ports and infrastructures, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has assured that the details of the renewal of concession agreements with some terminal operators are now ready and would be perfected in the next forty five days.
Managing Director of NPA, Muhammed Bello-Koko stated this when he was directed by the Transportation Minister to make available the details of the agreements that are under renewal.
DAILY TREND reports that NPA Managing Director informed that five terminal operators were given temporary concession renewal of six months after their concession agreements expired.
While addressing journalists during his visit, the Transportation Minister said “We are not going to wait for the six months to renew the agreement, I do not have six months. I would make sure that the concessions are renewed in the next forty five days”
The Minister assured that he was going to give the reconstruction of the Tin Can Port dilapidated quay aprons priority attention.
According to him, the quay aprons of the port are getting destroyed due to total absence of maintenance.
Speaking, he said “I have advised the management of NPA, in the past, there is what we call; Programmed Preventive Maintenance, this is why at every port, we have an engineering outfit headed by the Chief Port Engineer.
“Part of his responsibility is to draw out preventive maintenance programmes for the ports under his jurisdiction every year, take it to the headquarters for consideration and approval, and that forms part of the forthcoming budget.
“If you carry out preventive maintenance, you would avoid a lot of these deterioration that is taking place, this is the truth, the sooner we accept it, the better.” He said
Speaking further, Eng Sambo said “As you would recall that I was posted to the Federal Ministry of Transportation on the 6th of June, this is actually my second official assignment outside Abuja. I was in Kano for the Dala Inland Dry Port to declare it as a port of Origin and Destination. Today I am in Lagos, the maritime headquarters of Nigeria.
“The purpose of my coming to Lagos is to look at the ports and the related infrastructures which are supposed to support maritime activities. As you all know, the ports are the gateway to the nation’s economy.
“If we get our acts right, the maritime industry can replace the revenue from the oil industry, this is why we have come to see how we can support the port authorities in order to improve on their deteriorating structures” he said
Speaking earlier at the Ports and Cargo Terminal at Tin Can Port owned by SIFAX Group, Eng Sambo said the NPA had approached him with a devastating problem that the Tin Can Island Port is facing.
“I personally attached importance to the maritime industry, there are billions of dollars that can be earned from the maritime industry if we get our acts right”
