Private Sector Moves to Partner NIWA to Complete Lokoja River Port

Ibrahim Oyewale in Lokoja

The Private Sector in Kogi State and the management of Nigeria Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) are mulling partnership arrangements that would lead to the completion of the Jamata River Port, located in Lokoja.

The call for the completion of the port that was first awarded in 2012 by the federal government through a private partnership arrangement was made yesterday, when the organized Private Sector, made up of the Shippers Council of Nigeria, Shippers Association, Manufacturing Association of Nigeria, Nigeria Association of Small Scale Industrialists (NASSI), Kogi State Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture and management staff of NIWA visited the port during a facility tour.

The General Manager, Marine Services, NIWA, Mr. Joseph Ororo and General Manager, Ports and Environmental Services, Agbalu Fidelis, were amongst other top management staff of NIWA at the facility tour.

While the private sector lauded efforts of the government thus far, they decried the slow pace of work on the port, pointing out that if the facility was operational, it would have helped in reducing cost of doing business.

The private sector representatives said the location of Lokoja and river  port could not be overemphasised, even as they lamented that the travel time, loss of many hours, dilapidated nature of the state of Nigerian roads, had made it very important to complete the Lokoja Port.

The stakeholders identified adequate budgetary funding as factor that had slowed down the pace of work since it was first awarded in 2005 and later in 2012.

While pointing out that the 2012 flooding that was witnessed in the state led to a call for a variation of the contract, they lamented that it took many years until 2021 when it got an approval for variation from the earlier N4.1 billion to N6.4 billion.

The private Sector team led by the Director, North Central Zone of the Shippers Council, Okolue A. Ify and Director General, Nigeria Shippers Council, Kogi State Chapter

Edwin Ignatius, led in the appeal to the federal government to ensure the completion of the Jamata Inland River Port located in Lokoja, pointing out that the economic benefits were enormous for the country.

Speaking on behalf of the NIWA team, Ororo and Fidelis disclosed that the Jamata Inland River Port was at 59 per cent completion and expressed optimism that the main quay structure would be ready by the end of the year.

The NIWA team disclosed that as part of efforts to beat inflation, a state of the art cargo lifting equipment and other equipment needed for the takeoff of the Port had been procured awaiting completion.