Risk of collapse: NPA raises alarm over Tin-Can port

The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), over the weekend, disclosed that the Tin-Can Island and the Lagos Port Complex, Apapa, risk collapse if not rehabilitated soon.

This was disclosed by the Managing Director of the NPA, Mohammed Bello-Koko, during an interview on Channels Television which was monitored.

According to the NPA MD, “the Port of Tin-Can is collapsing, and if nothing is done in the coming years, there will be many problems related towards doing business there.

“Also, Escravos, Calabar and Onne Ports are in need of significant rehabilitation alongside Tin-Can to the tune of $800 million.

“For the port of Tin-Can, It is not an imminent collapse, but in the next few years, if nothing is done, there will be problems.

“We have been managing Tin-Can and doing palliatives and other jobs for some.time now, but it is time we rehabilitate it completely. We also need to rehabilitate some parts of Apapa.”

The NPA MD added that the Tin-Can rehabilitation needs to also be done alongside ports in the Niger Delta region from Escravos to Calabar, adding that total costs could rise to $800million.

He said, “We need to reconstruct the ‘breakwaters’ in Escarvos. It has collapsed for over ten years, and there is a collapsed jetty in Calabar, Warri, Rivers and Onne. There is no port that does not need reconstruction of some of its facilities. Our estimates are between $560 to $800 million.

“The gap is because if we decide to leave Apapa till much later, we do not need up to $800 million, but if you need to reconstruct Tin-Can, we need that amount,” he stated.

He added that the NPA has increased it’s revenue from N250bn and N300billion to N361bn, revealing that contribution into the Federal Government CRF has increased to N91billion, saying, “We believe this year we should do far better than that,” he concluded.