Port Operator Decries Non Dredging of Calabar Port 10 Years after Concession

Nigeria January 5, 2017 Dianabasi Effiong

From: Dianabasi Effiong, Calabar EcoMarine (ECM) Terminals, operators of Calabar Port, have decried the continuous non dredging of the port channel by the Federal...

From: Dianabasi Effiong, Calabar

EcoMarine (ECM) Terminals, operators of Calabar Port, have decried the continuous non dredging of the port channel by the Federal Government 10 years after the port was concessioned.

Speaking in Calabar while receiving the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001:2008 Quality Management System certificate on behalf of EcoMarine Terminals for compliance with international best practices, the Vice Chairman of ECM, Mr Mahmoud Tukur, said the non dredging of the port by the Federal Government is an outright breach of the concessioning agreement.

Represented by the Group General Manager, Mr Dayo Balogun, during an interview session immediately after the award presentation, Tukur said: “We want to implore the government to please listen very carefully and revisit that issue.

“By next year, it is going to be 10 years that we took over this concession. It is a material breach of the agreement, because the agreement says that the authorities have the responsibility to dredge the channel to the advertised draft of ten metres.

“The dredging is the biggest critical limitation factor that is affecting the potential of this port in Calabar and once the dredging is done, I can assure you that this ports would become a trans-shipment port in no distant time. Our aspiration as a nation to become a maritime regional hub cannot be achieved if we continue to depend exclusively on Lagos Port. They must open up other ports outside Lagos to complement the port users in Nigeria.”

He also said: “we remain committed and we pray that the authorities will see the reasoning and the wisdom to make sure that whatever is necessary to be done should be done to make sure that the dredging of this channel to the advertised draft is achieved.

“Today look at most of the companies in Calabar. Look at Tinapa, look at Calabar Free Trade Zone. A lot of potentials exist here, but, even outside Calabar. Today Calabar port remains the closest port to the 16 northern states in this country.

“Look, neighbouring countries of Niger and Chad are landlocked countries. Look at Cameroon, look at Malabor. These are neighbouring countries that can actually collaborate and would really be a very big hub to service the entire region.

“But without the dredging of the channel it is going to be very difficult for us to attract the right types of vessels that would bring the right type of consignments which would actually meet the needs of our customers.

“This is something that can generate so much in terms of employment, and revenue for the government. If all these are not done, by that singular achievement of dredging the channel, the multiplier effect is too numerous to mention.”

He appealed to the government to “look at the dredging issues and make sure it is completed in no distant time, so that operators can begin to harness the benefit of Calabar port for its strategic location which is quite a big advantage that we have.

He said: “I would say that the dredging is a victim of the usual government bureaucracy. If they do not complete the dredging, any money spent in the past would have amounted to a colossal waste. So the only way to justify the money spent in the past is to complete the dredging to advertised draft”

He also commended the award saying that the search for excellence has no boundaries.

He also said: “It is part of the value adding proposition government has in mind when it decided to privatize the ports and so the best complement we can add is to ensure the customers are happier, they are better served and get the better service commensurate to the money they pay.”

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