Again, Cross Rivers Govt Raises Hope On Dredging Of Calabar Ports

The Cross Rivers State government has once again assured that dredging of Calabar Ports is likely to happen before the end of this year, 2011.
This assurance was given last week by the Special Adviser to Cross River State, Government on Investment Promotion, Mr. Gerald Ada, while declaring open a workshop organized by the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, South-South Zone at Calabar.

The Cross Rivers State government has once again assured that dredging of Calabar Ports is likely to happen before the end of this year, 2011.
This assurance was given last week by the Special Adviser to Cross River State, Government on Investment Promotion, Mr. Gerald Ada, while declaring open a workshop organized by the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, South-South Zone at Calabar.
The event which took place recently was attended by leading maritime industry stakeholders in the Zone. The programme is aimed at seeking ways of reducing the transactional cost of import- export Business at the Calabar Port to the barest minimum.
Mr. Ada, who represented the Cross River State Governor Senator Liyel Imoke, informed the participants that although the new Calabar ports was commissioned in June 1979, but regretted that the Ports is not performing optimally.
He blamed the pack of patronage on  the shallow channel to the ports, and promised that efforts are being intensified to ensure that the Calabar Ports channel would be dredged before the end of the year, 2011.

“The Calabar Ports channel would be dredged before the end of the year 2011, and that contract for the rehabilitation of the Calabar-Akwa Ibom roads had been awarded”, the SA to Liyel Imoke said.
Frowning at what he tagged as low ship traffic to Calabar Ports, Cross River State government urged Federal Government to direct the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), to occasionally divert smaller containers and RoRo Vessels from congested Lagos Ports to Calabar Posts.
Mr. Ada also appealed to all the participants at Calabar parley to strive in their contributions to come up with practical and achievable strategies on how to address various challenges militating against shipping activities at the Calabar Ports.
In his address at the Calabar Confab and  the Zonal Co-ordinator of Nigerian Shippers Council, South-South Zone, Mr. Maurice Effanga said that the concern of the Council was aimed at protecting and defending the interest of the Nigerian Shippers, and the national Cargo interest, in matters relating to the shipment of goods to and from Nigeria.
Mr. Effanga pointed out that the dredging of the Calabar Port access channel and rehabilitation of roads linking the port to neighboring States, were among the challenges facing shippers and accessing shipping services, within Calabar Ports.