The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, has assured the DP World, owners and operators of the Port of Dubai, of the federal government’s readiness to cooperate and welcome investments for the development and management of infrastructure in Nigeria’s port system.
Oyetola stated this at the weekend when he received a delegation from the Dubai Port owners and operators.
Stressing that the government is open to investments in the sector and that the ministry will provide the needed impetus to interested parties for such ventures, the minister welcomed the proposal from the Port of Dubai to establish an industrial park to complement the ports and provide a logistics base for processing exports
“We have an extensive coastline and abundance of lands suitable for the development of industrial parks,” he disclosed, urging the delegation to bring forth a formal proposal outlining their interest, for consideration by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).
The federal government is keen on deepening the private sector in the ports, Oyetola further stated, assuring of the viability of port operations in Nigeria, with a guaranteed good rate of returns on such investments.
The Minister explained that apart from an ongoing modernization plan to increase the draught level of the nation’s ports to a range of between 16-16.5 meters, to regain Nigeria’s status as a transshipment hub, government is working to digitize and automate all port processes to reduce human and physical interface to the barest minimum.
These initiatives include but are not limited to: implementing the Cargo Tracking System, the Port Community System, and the National Single Window. And are geared towards increasing efficiency and reducing turn-around- time at the ports.
In his remarks, the leader of the delegation, Sultan Ahmed Bin-Sulayem, disclosed that the company operates in 48 countries and has over 90 terminals around the world with a registered presence in most African countries.
According to him, the DP World runs one of the most efficient port systems in the world and hopes to deploy its expertise and experience in Nigerian port systems if given the opportunity.
