The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has set Thursday for the official launch of an online portal for the disbursement of the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF).
The ceremony which holds in Lagos, comes about five months after the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, confirmed that the Federal Government had given NIMASA the go-ahead to disburse the funds to qualified indigenous ship owners.
In an official invite to some stakeholders, a copy of which was sighted by Shipping Position Daily, NIMASA said the launch of the CVFF Application Portal marks a significant step towards the final disbursement, which is aimed at growing Nigeria’s indigenous capacity in the maritime sector. The invite was signed by the agency’s Chief Executive Officer; Dr Dayo Mobereola.
The launch of the application portal is expected to kick-start the process of the long-waited CVFF disbursement. The fund is estimated to have accrued to between $350 million and $700 million.
The framework for disbursement as advertised by NIMASA is that, the applicant (indigenous shipowner) must provide 15% of the total project cost, while Primary Lending Institutions, which are selected banks are expected to provide 35% of the funding.
The balance of 50% equity is expected to be provided by NIMASA. A maximum of $25 million per beneficiary has also been set, at a single digit interest rate, at tenure of eight years and a moratorium of two years
