Shipping Manifest

Jonathan commissions Onitsha Port

... Says facility will enhance economic activities 

As he commissioned the Onitsha River Port in Anambra State, President Goodluck Jonathan says  it would enhance economic activities in the country.

The development of the port, according to him, is hinged on the need to open up the country’s waterways to make trade and commerce easier, as well as reduce the burden on the road network.

He reiterated his administration’s plan to give some fillip to rail and water transport, urging the private sector to collaborate with the government to create jobs.  

Jonathan lauded the government and people of Anambra for completing the port.

The President pledged that his administration would not relent in its effort to deliver on its campaign promises.

He praised the prevailing peace in the South East, describing it as second to none in the country.

Also speaking, the Minister of Transport, Sen. Idris Umar, said that the port, which cost N4.6 billion, was one of the numerous ports the Federal Government was building.  

Umar said that three inland water ports in Baro, Niger State; Oguta, Imo State; and Yamata, Kogi State, would soon be completed and inaugurated.

He thanked the President and the Anambra governor, Mr.Peter Obi, for supporting his ministry in developing water transport.  

In his own address, Senate President David Mark promised to work harmoniously with the executive arm of government to develop the nation’s economy.

Mark, who was represented by Sen. Zainab Kure, urged synergy among the ministries to ensure quality budgeting, adding that the government would soon set up a board on deep sea water.  

Mark expressed the hope that the Baro Port would be inaugurated in the next 12 months.

Obi, who described Onitsha as the biggest commercial city in Africa, said that the inauguration of the port would make the movement of goods more efficient.
  The Onitsha River Port Complex was rehabilitated by the Federal Government through the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) at the cost of N4 billion.

Funded by the Federal Government, the refurbishment was overseen by NIWA.

The commissioning of the Onitsha River Port Complex today follows its extensive overhaul with new facilities, offices, warehouses and cargo handling equipment.

The reconditioned river port complex is expected to boost and complement the newly-dredged Lower River Niger.

Already, barges and other vessels moving on the dredged channel of the River Niger are using the port to load and discharge cargoes such as tiles, steel and petroleum products.

It is expected that, as the complex goes into full operation following the commissioning, businesses in the commercial hub of Onitsha, and environs, would lead to the optimal utilisation of the resulting synergy between the dredged River Niger and the port.

Before the overhaul, which was handled by Inter-Bau Construction Limited, the port had suffered years of neglect, underutilisation and disrepair.

The Shehu Shagari Administration commissioned the Onitsha River Port in 1983, but it was never really completed.

Thereafter, it slipped into a state of underutilisation and disrepair, forcing operators of ferries and other trading vessels to abandon it.