World Bank is set to offer a loan for the rehabilitation of Tin Can Island Port and the Lagos Port Complex (LPC) Apapa.
The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has disclosed that the World Bank is ready to shoulder the responsibility of rehabilitating the Tin Can Island Port and the Lagos Port Complex (LPC) in Lagos.
NPA’s Managing Director, Mr. Mohammed Bello-Koko revealed this while speaking with newsmen.
According to him, the funds will be offered if the concessionaires operating the affected terminals fail to commit to fixing the port on time.
He added that the the bank had initially offered similar assistance some years back.
He lamented over the two-week notice he and his colleagues gave operators before entering the terminal for inspection.
“Termination of the concession agreement NPA has with some terminal operators if they failed to invest in the port infrastructure they had been using for the past 10 to 15 years is on call, Bello-Koko said.
“The affected five terminal operators are being monitored to ensure the right things are done as stated in the agreement.
The Authority’s MD said the introduction of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) Act by the Federal Government meant that the renewal of concession agreements for terminal operators was done according to the law or guidelines.
“We have had interest from the World Bank, IFC, Afri-Exim Bank, and others. Surprisingly, it was the World Bank that actually gave money to the NPA to construct the part of Apapa port so many years ago. The World Bank has come again to tell us that if we need funding, they will give it to us, he explained.
“Tin Can Island Port, we all know what is happening there. The port is practically collapsing. We need to focus our budget on the rehabilitation of those quay walls at the Tin Can port. We have taken a holistic review of decaying infrastructure at our ports and have decided that it is very important that we rehabilitate Tin Can and Apapa port.
“What we have done is to start talking to lending agencies, even though we don’t intend to lend. We are telling the terminal operators that you people have operated these port terminals for about 15 years. How much money are you going to invest in these port terminals? We are telling some of them that their leases have expired, how much will they be investing in the ports?”
