Dredging Of River Benue, Port Construction To Commence Soon, Says Minister

The Minister of Transport Sen. Idris Umar, has assured that the dredging of the River Benue by the Federal Government would commence before the last quarter of the year.
The minister said this when members of the Makurdi River Port Implementation Committee paid him a courtesy call in Abuja.
He said the construction of Makurdi River Port would also start within the same time frame.
Umar said that the procurement process and the award of contract for the dredging had reached an advanced stage.

The Minister of Transport Sen. Idris Umar, has assured that the dredging of the River Benue by the Federal Government would commence before the last quarter of the year.
The minister said this when members of the Makurdi River Port Implementation Committee paid him a courtesy call in Abuja.
He said the construction of Makurdi River Port would also start within the same time frame.
Umar said that the procurement process and the award of contract for the dredging had reached an advanced stage.
Giving an insight into progress of work, the minister told his guest that: “We are almost at the verge of taking it to the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) after which we will take it to the Federal Executive Council for approval. “In a matter of weeks, the contracts will be awarded.
“We do hope that before the beginning of the last quarter of this year, the two projects will take-off,’’ the minister said.
Umar, however, commended Gov. Gabriel Suswam of Benue for his foresight in setting up the committee.
He said that the setting up of the committee had demonstrated the state government's determination to partner with the Federal Government in boosting projects.
“Usually when we embark on a project we are always confronted with challenges particularly problems that are community- related.
“By setting up this committee, these challenges will be tackled,’’ he said.
Earlier, the Chairman of the committee, Mr Mike Jukwe, said the Makurdi River Port had been captured in the 2012 Appropriation Act of the Federal Government.
Jukwe said that trade; economy and business development of the country had been along the North-South traffic axis.
He said this was why the colonialists developed an integrated system for the transportation of goods which included the inland waterways.
“While the Federal Government is addressing the navigational problem sedimentation through dredging, the Benue state government is addressing the problem of lack of cargo through boosting agricultural production.''
He said a dredged River Benue and a functional Makurdi River Port would transform the economy of the state with massive employment and wealth creation.
Jukwe who is also the Registrar, Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria, appealed to the Federal Government to take the agrarian nature of the Makurdi River Port into consideration in designing the port.
The committee was inaugurated on February 13, 2012 to collaborate with the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) to ensure the realisation of the projects.