Shippers’ Council, Afreximbank team up on delivery of Edo Dry Port
All is set for a strategic partnership between he Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), Afreximbank and the France Minister of Transport to collaborate on the Edo Dry Port.
According to the new partnership,
The Executive Secretary of NSC, Mr Hassan Bello, made the disclosure on Thursday in Lagos while hosting the Edo State Inland Container Depot/ Truck Transit Park Implementation Committee, led by its Chairman, Dr Charles Akhigbe.
He said that the plans would be concluded during an impending meeting with the leadership of Afreximbank and the France Minister of Transportation.
Bello noted that NSC had got an interest from the Afreximbank to talk about critical transport infrastructure that could grow the nation’s economy and Edo dry port was one of the top priority projects.
He also intended to share the Edo dry port prospects with the France Minister who would visit Nigeria in a fortnight.
Although the Edo dry port project was expected to have taken off several months ago, the NSC boss dispelled claims that the council had abandoned the project, saying that the dry port was one of the projects NSC intended to market.
“The potentials of the Dry Port in Benin has never been questioned and NSC is as enthusiastic about the project as Edo State government and your committee.
“We want to see this port granted port of origin and destination. We have worked with the Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission (ICRC).
“We also arranged for the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Transportation, Dr Magdalene Ajani to visit and be aware of the project. However, we are exercising caution on the infrastructure which you have invested so much.
“We don’t want the Edo dry port to be 100 per cent complete before we declare it as a port of origin and destination. If we have 60 percent, that is a demonstration of intention, goodwill and shows the capacity of the sponsors.
“Benin is a well-deserved city for dry port, but we need concrete investors so we have to market the project. It is one of the projects we intend to engage Afreximbank for funding.
“We can’t designate parks or markets as dry ports.
“There must be modern infrastructure and processes. There should be refrigerated warehouses, processing centers, connection to other crucial infrastructure such as rail, roads, etc. The dry port must reflect the economic ambition of Nigeria,” he said.
While describing the Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, as a development-driven leader, the NSC boss admonished the state to invest in the Edo dry port, noting that Kano State has spent N2.4billion to develop the roads leading to the dry port.
Bello noted that after the council’s GAP Analysis on the Edo dry port, the major challenges with the project included connectivity as there was no rail connection and the roads are in poor conditions.
Responding, Akhigbe revealed that the Edo State government had approved the reconstruction of the road leading to the dry port while a rail connection from Agbor (Delta State) was also in the offing.
Akhigbe stated that the feasibility master plan for the rail had already been paid for and the projection was made for standard gauge rail.
