Maritime
Bayelsa To Develop Deep Seaport
Bayelsa State Government is to collaborate with Global Seaway International and Tianjin Energy Resources Limited to develop a deep sea port in the state.
Governor Seriake Dickson made the remark at a joint presentation on the sea port project by representatives of an indigenous company, Global Seaway International and their Chinese technical partners, Tianjin Energy Resources Limited, in Government House, Yenagoa.
The Governor said such investments would complement government’s efforts at industrialising and stimulating the economy of the state, noting that the sea port project would also provide job opportunities for the people.
According to him, the development of critical infrastructure, creation of wealth and capacity building were beyond the capacity of the state government and assured that government would provide an enabling environment for businesses to thrive in the state.
While assuring private firms of government’s preparedness to donate suitable land on the request of the companies, Governor Dickson said government would set up a technical team to fashion out the way forward with the investors.
He called on the investing public to take advantage of the virgin investment climate in the state with its abundant opportunities.
In his presentation, chairman of Global Seaway International, King Frank Okurakpo explained that the proposed sea port project was estimated to gulp over 3 billion dollars and will be located at Agge in Ekeremor Local Government Area of the State.
King Okurakpo noted that the objective of the industrial park which is part of the project was to create an industrial base to support the industrialisation programme of government as well as reduce reliance on foreign facilities.
He stated that the sea port will also have such facilities as a 500 mega watt power plant, fabrication yard, jetty, outfield chemical plant and tank farm, dry docking yard, as well as a cement and bagging plant.
Others include a steel pipe rolling mill, container terminal, fertilizer plant, supply vessels maintenance service yard, port authority, security and customs administration complex, port housing estate, schools, hospitals, shopping centers, parks and other facilities.
King Okurakpo disclosed that well over 100,000 workers are expected to be employed during the construction phase of the project while 1,200 workers would be absorbed, upon completion.
Also in his presentation, representative of Tianjin Energy Resources Limited, Mr. Peter Lin said his company will finance 85 % of the project while the remaining 15% funding is expected to be sourced locally.
The ongoing hunger protests and EndBad Governance in Nigeria embarked upon by Nigerians have paralysed seaport activities across the six Seaports in the country.
Ports operational activities were shutdown at the six nation’s seaports: Tin Can Island Port, Apapa Port, Onne Port, Rivers Port Complex, Warri and Calabar Port.
Àgrieved Protesters took to the streets nationwide to demand an end to economic hardship and bad governance.
The #EndBadGovernance protests, which began in major cities across the country on Monday, August 1,2024, crippled socio-economic activities and forced shops, business centres and commercial activities to shutdown, including air and seaports.
Following the hunger protests, maritime activities were paralysed as all the busy seaports were deserted by port users.
Ships birthed at the ports were not discharging cargos, neither did trucks load consignment to their destinations and to the consumers.
Seagoing vessels with cargos were stranded at the sea as marine workers were not on duty to carry out their marine operations.
Heavy security presence was noticed at major ports, including Apapa, Tin Can, Onne, and Port Harcourt as operations were grounded to a near halt.
Aggrieved youths, students and civil society organisations stormed major streets in various parts of the country, demanding that President Bola Tinubu should, as a matter of urgency, review or discard some of his harsh economic policies, which have brought hardship to Nigerians.
The protesters armed with various placards chanted solidarity songs, defled heavy downpour to protest harsh governance and hardship in the country.
They called on the President Tinubu government to review its economic policies, saying many Nigerians have been subdued by poverty and frustration since the advent of the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government.
By: Chinedu Wosu
The Federal Government has said it spent over N138 billion in fish import bill in nine months in 2023, saying its yearly fish import bill stands at 2.4 million metric tonnes.
Government said such import bill drains the country’s foreign exchange reserves.
Director, Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, Wellington Omoragbon, stated this during a courtesy visit by the National Working Group on Gender and Blue Economy.
He called on government to tackle challenges facing fishery and aquaculture, including dredging activities.
To address the challenge, Omoragbon said government is launching initiatives to increase local capacity, including locally-designed technologies such as storage facilities and inclusion of women and youths in production.
The Director emphasised the need for state and local governments to prioritise fisheries projects, particularly in supporting women and youth as 70 per cent of the population lack necessary support in the fishing industry.
He highlighted the need for market and technology development to reduce reliance on fish imports.
“The government plans to intervene in the fishing sector, signing an MoU with the Ministry of Water Resources to utilise the country’s water bodies for fishing”, he said.
He acknowledged the skill gap in the sector and called for a need assessment to identify targeted issues across fishing communities.
National President of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA), Lucky Amiwero, has charged the Federal Government to implement the Single Window Environment (SWE) to curb corruption-related problems at the nation’s seaports.
In a letter addressed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Amiwero noted that apart from curbing corruption-related problems at the seaports, implementation of the SWE has many other benefits.
The Council listed some of the benefits to include provision of standardised information, single entry point, and reduced malpractice associated with import-export and transit-related regulatory requirements.
NCMDLCA also added that “the SWE will help facilitate the accelerated flow of service in Customs release and Cargo clearance, enhance the availability and handling of information, and harmonise better sharing of relevant data across Government system.
“It will reduce malpractice associated with Import- Export and Transit regulated requirements, provide trade related government information and receive payment of duties and other charges”.
The Council added that the provision of Section (1a) of the Customs Act provide for lead agency and one stop-shop process under the control of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).
The implementation of SWE is expected to simplify the administrative process, reduce costs, and enhance the availability and handling of information, making trading easier for both government and private sector stakeholders.
By: Nkpemenyie Mcdominic
