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| ED, Eng and Tec Ser. Arc Mohammed Saleh; MD NPA, Mallam Habib Abdullahi; Committee Secretary , Mallam Bala and MD of Felak Concept, Mrs Aisha Achimugu at the presentation of the OBC to the NPA |
The Nigerian
Ports Authority (NPA) says it is committed to the timely completion and successful
take-off of the Ibom deep seaport in Akwa Ibom.
The Managing
Director of NPA, Malam Habib Abdullahi, gave the assurance in Lagos while
receiving a copy of the final Outline Business Case (OBC) of the project from
the Ministerial Project Development and Steering Committee.
A statement
issued on Thursday by the Public Affairs Department of the NPA quoted Abdullahi
as saying that the success of the project would be beneficial to the NPA just
as the Onne Port project, “since the NPA is a stakeholder and the technical
regulator.’’
It said that
the managing director appreciated the efforts of the committee and commended
Gov. Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom for initiating the project considering its
economic potential to the state and the nation at large.
The statement
said Abdullahi encouraged other states to emulate Akwa Ibom by initiating
projects to empower their people and improve their local economy.
It also said
that the Federal Government had been encouraging state governments to invest in
the maritime sector under Public Private Partnership arrangement.
The statement
said the NPA was also involved in other proposed deep seaport projects
including the Lekki deep seaport, the Badagry deep seaport and Olokola deep
seaport.
According to
the statement, the Secretary of the Committee, Malam Dikko Bala, had expressed
appreciation for the support and commitment of NPA toward the project.
Over 20 local
and foreign investors had indicated interest in the project which would be
executed under the Long Term Amortisation Scheme (LTAS), the statement quoted
Bala as saying.
The statement
noted that the committee’s secretary commended the management of NPA for
funding 50 per cent of the bill of the Project Development and Steering
Committee (PDSC) from inception to date.
It said the
highlight of the occasion was the presentation of the copy of the OBC to
Abdullahi by Mrs Aisha Achimugu, the Managing Director of Felak Concept Ltd.,
the consulting firm.
