The Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, Mohammed Bello-Koko, has explained why the agency may be spending up to $800m for the reconstruction of some of the country’s seaports.
Speaking in an interview with Channels Television over the weekend, Bello-Koko said if the agency decided not to reconstruct Apapa Port, it would spend less than that amount.
He, however, added that there was the need to reconstruct other ports.
Bello-Koko said that the agency had increased its revenue to N361bn from N260bn, stressing that its contribution to Consolidated Revenue Fund had increased to N91bn.
“Our estimate currently is between $560m and $800m. Now that gap is because if we decide to leave Apapa to some other time, we do not need $800m but we need to also reconstruct TinCan, as we are reconstructing other places; we need about $800m. We have increased our revenue from N260bn to now N361bn. Our contribution to CRF has increased to N91bn and we believe that this year we will do far better than that,” he explained.
Bello-Koko noted that though there was no imminent collapse in the ports if nothing was done in the next few years, there will be problems.
“The port of TinCan is collapsing. There is no imminent collapse but in the next few years, if nothing is done, there will be problems.
“We have been managing it and doing other palliatives but it is time we rehabilitate TinCan ports. We also need to rehabilitate some parts of Apapa. We need to reconstruct the breakwaters in Escravos. It has collapsed for over 10 years,” he said.
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