..As National Assembly Stops Appropriation
For failure to expend previous appropriations for the project, the National Assembly has refused to provide funds for the much-expected dredging of Calabar channel in 2010, putting paid to any hope that the strategic port may soon start experiencing a new era of ship traffic.
Shipping Position Weekly confirmed authoritatively last week that even though Nigerian Ports Authourity (NPA) had included the project in its 2010 budget estimates and has even gone ahead to advertise for the capital and maintenance dredging of the approaches to Calabar port, the Senate and House of representatives committee on marine transport have expunged it from the budget.
In fact, a member of the House of Representative committee on marine transport told our correspondent that during he many meetings prior to passing the budget, the law makers had expressed shock that “NPA has year-in-year-out included Calabar channel dredging in its budget and we have always appropriated funds”. For instance in the last two or three years, they have got between N6Billion and N7Billion, but they never used it.”
The lawmaker also expressed doubt over the sincerity of NPA in advertising for the dredging of the same channel under the 2010 appropriation when it is obvious that there is no provision for it.
The House member who pleaded anonymity told our reporter that there is no magic about the project, declaring that it can not come up in 2010. He also acknowledged that several efforts have been made by stakeholders to get the abandoned project back on track. He specifically disclosed that the state governor, Liyel Imoke had approached the National Assembly for the same purpose, but shifted the blame on NPA.
Shipping Position Weekly recalls that a stakeholders’ forum which was organised recently in Calabar to further drum support for the project had pleaded with both the National Assembly and other relevant apparatuses of government to consider dredging the channels leading into Calabar port.
The controversial dredging of Calabar channel started in 2006 when government awarded the contract worth about 26.5 million Euro to VAN Oord Nigeria Ltd, a Dutch firm, for the maintenance dredging of the Calabar Port channel. In the same vein, another Dutch dredging and reclamation company,JAN – de- Nul, also won the bid to dredge a section of the same channel estimated to cover a distance of 84 kilometers from Turning Basin up to Fairway Buoy at the cost of 30 million Euro. While Van Oord was expected to dredge 40 kilometers, JAN-de-Nul was to take care of the remaining distance of 44 kilometers.
Shipping Position Weekly confirmed that as at that time the project was to last for 64 weeks and about 25 million cubic meters of silt was to be removed from the channel and create a gradient of 1. 3 meters. The company was to ensure at least 10 meters draught along the area whose width spans 150 meters.
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