N420bn Onne Port Phase 4B Dev Underway

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved a whopping $2.9 billion (about N420 billion) for the construction of Phase 4 of the Onne Oil and Gas Port, near Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Sequel to a memo presented by the Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar, the FEC ratified the President’s Anticipatory Approval for the Development of Phase 4B Port facilities at Onne Oil and Gas Free Zone.

According to the Minister of Information, Mr Labaran Maku, who briefed State House correspondents after the weekly FEC, presided over by President Goodluck Jonathan, the project will generate about 20, 000 jobs on completion.

He said, “the concept of the development of the facilities is to decongest the Lagos and Port Harcourt ports while entrenching private public partnership (PPP) in the establishment and upgrading of public sector facilities.

“The project is expected to generate 4,000 job opportunities for both professionals during its execution and about 20,000 direct and indirect job opportunities when it is in full operation.

The concession and development of Phase 4B port facilities at Onne Oil and Gas Free Zone, Onne Port Complex, in the sum of $2,797,129,243.26 only, exclusive of all taxes, with a completion period of 6 years and a concession period of 25 years to be solely pre-funded by the contractor, Messrs Deep Offshore Services Nigeria Limited, and the cost to be amortized from the service boat and other port charges in all the ports,” he said.

Justifying the project, Maku said there was the need to increase the capacity of Nigerian ports, adding that inadequate infrastructure has led to the congestion being experienced in Lagos.

He added that Ibaca Deep Sea in Cross River and Lagos Deep Sea Ports are also being developed to facilitate easy activities at the nation’s major ports.