As part of the gains of the port concession exercise which was carried out by the Federal Government in 2005, the Nigeria Ports Authority has said that the nation’s seaports have witnessed a tremendous increase in cargo throughput from 46million metric tonnes in year 2006 to 82million metric tonnes in year 2011.
Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, Engr Omar Suleiman gave these figures in Lagos yesterday in his welcome address at the opening ceremony of the 35th council meeting of the Port Management Association of West and Central Africa (PMAWCA)
As part of the gains of the port concession exercise which was carried out by the Federal Government in 2005, the Nigeria Ports Authority has said that the nation’s seaports have witnessed a tremendous increase in cargo throughput from 46million metric tonnes in year 2006 to 82million metric tonnes in year 2011.
Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, Engr Omar Suleiman gave these figures in Lagos yesterday in his welcome address at the opening ceremony of the 35th council meeting of the Port Management Association of West and Central Africa (PMAWCA)
Engr Suleiman who was speaking in line with the theme of the meeting which is: ‘Impact of Port Concession on The Socio-Economic Development of Our Countries’ said that due to the port reform exercise in Nigeria, container traffic in the country has also witnessed a 12-15percent annual growth.
He said that in line with the recorded growth, the Federal Government has embarked on several schemes which will expand port capacity, these according to him includes; wreck removal, dredging the River Niger for inland water transportation, capital and maintenance dredging to deepen and expand the channels, as well as the on-going massive investment in rail rehabilitation across the country.
The NPA boss however challenged the international delegates of PMAWCA who converged on Lagos for the meeting to ensure that they come up with resolutions that will address the challenges of piracy and armed robbery which has made shipments into the sub-region more expensive and also find a lasting solution to the problem of environmental pollution and degradation in Nigeria, Gambia and Ghana.
“The resolutions of this council meeting should serve as policy materials for our respective governments and decision makers in view of the significance of ports to our national economies”, he advised.
“Let us draw lessons from the challenges of the global economic recession and the bitter experiences of certain developed economies and take initiatives that will position the sub-region as the alternative investment haven, while insulating it from its dangerous consequences” he charged.
In his opening remarks, President of PMAWCA, Rear Admiral Fogan Kodjo Adegnon charged the government of the various port management authorities to ensure that the resolutions and outcome of the PMAWCA 35th council and 11th roundtable are given legislative backing and must be implemented.
Adegnon who was represented by the Managing Director of Lome Port Authority, Mr. Nene Willi however said that, “the discussions of this council meeting will be useless without the support of the various governments”.
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