$1.6bn standard guage: Port rail track for completion in two weeks

…Reaffirms NPA’s position on Tincan Island port quay reconstruction

The Minister of State for Transportation, Sen. Gbemisola Saraki, on Monday assured Nigerians that the rail track that led to the Apapa Port terminals would be completed in two weeks.

Saraki made the assurance when she led some officials of the Federal Ministry of Transportation to Apapa Port Terminals through the Mobolaji Bank Anthony Rail Station in Lagos.

She said the Project Manager, China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC), Mr Xia Lijun, had given her the assurance that the laid track would be completed in the next two weeks.

“As you can see, the building belonging to the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Scanner Centre needs to be pulled down but there has been issues surrounding it.

“I have been able to see the situation and upon my return to Abuja, the ministry will meet with Management of NCS and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).

“Before the end of next week, solution to improve the construction at the Apapa rail track will be provided and the rail will be operational in two weeks,” Saraki said.

Saraki, noting the need for the demolition of  the Customs scanner centre, stressed the importance of ensuring that the demolition was done safely without destroying the customs equipment.

She added that after the demolition of the centre, the ministry would come back for inspection, to ensure that the scanners were relocated to a safer place.

Also during her tour of the Lagos Port Complexes – Tin-Can Island and Apapa Port, the Minister reaffirmed the position of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), for the total reconstruction of Quay walls of the TinCan Island Port Complex which have become weak due to age.

The Minister said, “we cannot build on a weak foundation, it is vital that we get these two very important ports modernised and ready to berth modern vessels. The state of the Ports shows decades of neglect but it’s better late than never.”

The position is very much in harmony with that of the Managing Director Nigerian Ports Authority, Mohammed Bello Koko who had allayed fears of the imminent collapse of the Tin-Can Island Island Port Complex as the Authority is already at conclusive stages concluding funding options which includes talks with competent multilateral funding institutions and the possibility of the Authority using a percentage of the revenue or transfers to CRF to fund the reconstruction .

It will be recall that Bello-Koko had on several interactions drawn attention to the fact that “although the NPA had over the years been undertaking remedial works on the quays, the time has come for a wholistic reconstruction and the Authority is working with the Federal Ministry of Transportation on the most prudent funding option.”

Bello Koko said “We are on the verge of concluding discussions with multilateral funding agencies to fund the reconstruction. The other option is to go to the government to request that the NPA be allowed to use a certain percentage of its revenue which is transferred to the consolidated revenue fund (CRF) on yearly basis to fund the reconstruction. We transfer about N60 billion a year and we can use about 50 percent of that to repair Tin-Can.

Another option is to do hybrid funding where NPA funds part and multilateral agencies fund the rest,” he said.

He said the final option is for the terminal operators to fund the reconstruction but the issue is that not all the terminal operators have the same financial capacity or will be able to source funds at the same time.

To him, the NPA does not want a haphazard reconstruction because starting Terminal A without Funding for reconstruction of terminal B may affect the safety and integrity of the berths neighbouring berth , adding that the process will be properly coordinated working with the Federal Ministry of Transportation to make a decision that would be taken at the right time and properly.

“ Cognisant of the urgency of the situation on ground we might soon be seeking for Federal Executive Council for approvals. We have started working on securing a wholistic interim and conceptual design for the port, and we will eventually get the final design on move unto the Procurement process,” he added.