Nigeria: Officials Remove 62 Shipwrecks from Lagos Waterways

The Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar, says government had to remove 62 critical wrecks from Lagos waterways to allow for dredging and also accommodate bigger vessels.

Umar disclosed this in Abuja on Monday during the 2013 Ministerial Platform organised by the Ministry of Information.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event was organised to commemorate the mid-term anniversary of President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.

Umar said the removal of wrecks and derelicts was done within the last 24 months, while 19 more wrecks had been identified for removal from the Lagos channel.

“The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) is embarking on a general wrecks removal exercise to cover a greater part of the maritime domain.

“This will be done under a ‘No Cure No Pay’ model involving the private sector,” he said.

The minister said efforts were on to develop the deep sea port in partnership with the private sector at Lekki and Badagry in Lagos, Ibaka in Akwa Ibom and Ogidigbe in Delta.

He disclosed that the other sea ports to be developed were the Olokola Port in Ogun and Ondo State, as well as Agge Port in Bayelsa.

“The current policy of port development is on equity participation of 20 per cent federal government, 20 per cent host state and 60 per cent private sector,” Umar said.

He said a memo would soon be presented to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for approval on the development of the Lekki deep sea port.

The minister said the port would be developed under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) for a concession period of 45 years.

The concession, he said, would be in favour of Messrs Eurochem Technologies Corporation Ltd. and the Lagos Free Trade Zone Company.

Umar said NIMASA hosted the Regional Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre (RMRCC) located at the Nigerian Maritime Resource Development Centre (NMRDC), Kirikiri in Lagos.

NAN reports that RMRCC co-ordinates search and rescue and other safety emergency response operations in the West and Central Africa.

The 2013 ministerial platform, which is the second edition, has as its theme “Nigeria: A Nation In Transformation” and is holding from June 3 to June 27.

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Source: pmnewsnigeria, June 4, 2013