The Port Manager, Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), Port Harcourt Port, Mrs Carolyn Akum Ufere has lamented over the deplorable condition of industry Road as part of the challenges facing port operations in Rivers State.
Ufere barred her mind during the 100 years centenary celebration of the port at Hotel Presidential, Port Harcourt over the weekend.
According to her, “The present state of Industry Road which serves as the main access into the port has been a source of concern to the port users.
She  said the deplorable condition of the road causes traffic congestion at most times, adding that, “vehicular movement along this port has been cumbersome”.
The Port Harcourt port boss, who also lamented  the encroachment NPA into land by some natives of the host communities said as a result of this development, the authority is putting all necessary machinery in motion towards the re-establishment of the boundaries of these lands prior to fencing.
“These lands were actually acquired for future port development and complementary port users”, she posited.
Ufere also noted that epileptic power supply had been another challenge facing the maritime activities of the port, stressing that, “the port, for some years now, had to depend on electricity generators to carry out its operations in the face of perennial power outage”.
She, however, said efforts are being made by management to avoid disruption to port operations although this is achieved at a high cost and also appealed to the government to come to their aid.
Meanwhile, the Managing Director of NPA, Habib Abdullahi has assured that the issues raised by Ufere were  being addressed by the management.