This
development was made known by the Acting Managing Director of NIWA, Mr. Danladi Ibrahim, who told newsmen that
formal discussions with the NNPC management on the proposal was slated to begin
this week.
According to
Mr. Danladi, NIWA is inspired to initiate the proposal in view of the determination
to stop the delivery of crude by trucks to the refineries in Port Harcourt,
Kaduna and Warri. He added that the NIWA could deliver crude through barges to
the refineries and described the option as cheaper, safe and
environment-friendly. He said that NIWA also had the capacity to deliver
refined products through inland waterways to all states, except Katsina and
Kano, stressing that the organisation had procured enough tugboats to drive the
barges, which were of varying capacities from 300 to 800 tonnes.
Mr. Ibrahim said
that NIWA had also acquired 17 gunboats to guarantee the security of the
facilities and personnel involved in the operation and hoped that the proposal
would be considered by the NNPC, saying the organisation had taken steps to
protect the banks of River Niger. According to him, this is to prevent the
dredged channel which was undertaken at a cost of N36 billion from being
blocked.
He stated
that Nigeria would reap the benefits of the dredging, saying more companies
were ready to use barges to move their products. He suggested the establishment
of an inland waterways trust fund. He said the fund would make it compulsory
for stakeholders in the maritime sector to pay a certain percentage of their
earnings for the development of inland waterways infrastructure.
According to
the NIWA boss, his vision is to unlock the potential of the sector in line with
efforts of the government to diversify the economy. He also spoke of plans to maintain
waterways and develop the waterfront in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Asaba and Warri
through a public-private partnership arrangement.
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