The Minister of Transport, Sen. Idris Umar, said on Tuesday the Federal Government was partnering Akwa Ibom Government and private investors to develop Ibaka Deep Sea Port to accommodate high volume of cargoes.
The minister stated this at the inauguration of the Project Development and Steering Committee of the port on Tuesday in Abuja.
Umar said the Ibaka port would be developed under Public Private Partnership (PPP) to accommodate cargoes generated through international maritime trade.
The Minister of Transport, Sen. Idris Umar, said on Tuesday the Federal Government was partnering Akwa Ibom Government and private investors to develop Ibaka Deep Sea Port to accommodate high volume of cargoes.
The minister stated this at the inauguration of the Project Development and Steering Committee of the port on Tuesday in Abuja.
Umar said the Ibaka port would be developed under Public Private Partnership (PPP) to accommodate cargoes generated through international maritime trade.
He said the port's location, which is an integral part of Ibom Industrial City and an important milestone in the development of Akwa Ibom, offered investors unparalleled opportunities for maritime and oil and gas related productions.
According to him, the site will also accommodate dry docking facilities for super tanker vessels and offer low cost access to off shore Oil/Gas Fields.
“Mr President attaches great importance to this project which is indeed part of the Transformation Agenda. We are committed to the completion of the project by the year 2015,'' he added.
Umar said President Goodluck Jonathan convened a Maritime Sector Retreat on July 3 to articulate concrete Action Plans to harness the potential of the maritime sector for sustainable national economic development.
“We are taking an important step in the actualisation of one of the key outcomes of that presidential initiative,'' the minister said.
He said the sector was central to the nation’s economy as a veritable medium of transportation, global commerce, resource exploitation and recreation.
The minister said the government created enabling environment to maximise the potentials of the sector and encourage PPP, particularly in the development of sea ports to facilitate international trade.
“It is not in doubt that the nation’s existing six ports are over-stretched. With an overall handling capacity of 60 million tonnes per annum, the ports presently cater for over 100 million tonnes per annum.
“It is, therefore, evident that the existing ports cannot cope with the current demand of the sector,'' he said.
He commended Gov. Godswill Akpabio for providing more than 5,000 hectares of land for the port, with further commitment to provide basic infrastructure, including the main access road.
Umar urged members of the committee to apply their experience and expertise to the assignment and ensure diligent implementation of the project.
Responding, the Secretary to the Akwa Ibom State Government, Mr Umana Umana, who is also a member of the committee, thanked the President for approving the project, promising that the state would ensure successful completion of the project.
Responding on behalf of the committee, the chairman, Dr Iorwuese Viashima, thanked the minister for the confidence reposed in the members.
He said that since the project was an important aspect of the Transformation Agenda, the state government and the minister would guarantee success of the enterprise.
He called on the private sector to give the needed impetus to the project.
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