FG to spend $7.2bn on two deep seaport projects

The Federal Government might be spending about $7.2bn to complete two approved deep seaports across the country.

The projects are Ibom, Badagry, and Deep Seaports.

In December 2020, the Akwa Ibom State Government said the Federal Government had approved $2.016bn for the first phase of Ibom Deep Seaport, which was estimated to cost $4.6bn.

This was disclosed in Uyo by the then Akwa-Ibom State Commissioner for Economic Development and IDSP, Akan Okon.

He said the Federal Executive Council approved the implementation of the first phase of IDSP on December 16, 2020, adding that the port would address issues of unemployment in Akwa Ibom and also enable the state to implement schemes for job creation and poverty alleviation.

According to Okon, upon completion of the project, it is expected to generate no fewer than 300,000 jobs in Akwa Ibom.

“Akwa Ibom is industrialised because this project, when operational, would solve and arrest critical problems in the state, especially the issue of unemployment, and then stimulate our state economy accordingly. The total cost of construction of the Ibom Deep Seaport is $4.6bn but the first phase of it is $2.016bn which was approved on Wednesday, December 16, by the Federal Government,” Okon said.

On March 1, 2022, the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, announced that the Badagry Deep Seaport project, estimated at $2.59bn expected to be one of the largest in Africa, would kick off in June.

Sanwo-Olu said this in Badagry during a stakeholders’ meeting on the Badagry Deep Seaport and Free Zone Project.

The plan to begin construction of the seaport, which will be hosted by 12 communities in Badagry, came after 10 years of conceiving the idea in 2012, during the administration of former Governor Babatunde Fashola.

According to Sanwo-Olu, the Badagry Deep Seaport Project is not just one project but a multi-level opportunity for progress for all the people of the state, given the volume of trade and quantum of investment opportunities that would spring up in the area when the project commences, and when it is completed and operational.

“Very importantly, employment and capacity building for the teeming youth and women in the affected communities will be prioritised. When fully operational, it will not only boost the fortunes of the people of Badagry but, also transform the entire economy of our state and that of the entire West African sub-region,” he said.

Meanwhile, stakeholders have said that the broader implications of those unfinished projects are substantial, expressing frustration over the lack of progress.

The President of the National Association of Master Mariners, Captain Tajudeen Alao, noted that the country did not need many deep seaports but smart ports.

He said that the country needed a few deep seaports and the use of feeder vessels to other ports.

“How much import and export are we planning for? We need to rethink so that we don’t have redundant ports like Sapele, Koko, and Calabar,” he stated.

According to Alao, if the country can establish integrated evacuation logistics, rail, road, and barges and provide constant security,

“We need to get a transport policy in place and a short-, medium-ium, and long-term strategies,” he posited.

A master mariner, Captain Adewale Ishola, added, “They have all done their visibility studies, with the NPA also going into approving their plans. Projects like this require capital. So, if they are not serious, investors will not show interest in the projects.”

According to Captain Ogunshakin Rotimi-William, those projects are capital intensive and at the moment, the Federal Government has so many projects at hand.

“Those deep seaports are very important because some vessels can’t come in because of the depth of the sea. But if they have these seaports, it will create more jobs for those cabbage small vessels and seafarers. So, the reasons that seem to have stalled the projects may be because of finance and political interest. Some politicians would be asking why they didn’t come to do it in my area,” he postulated.