The Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) Muhammed Bello-Koko, has promised to correct the imbalance in the old port concession agreement by ensuring that the new agreement the agency will sign is done to the benefit of the Federal Government and Nigerians.
The expired port concession agreement, it was gathered, was skewed in favour of some terminal operators.
The old agreement was signed between the Federal Government, through the NPA, and the terminal operators in 2006.
Speaking with reporters in Lagos yesterday, Bello-Koko said each terminal operator would be held responsible for the maintenance of port infrastructure as done in other climes and enshrined in the new concession agreement.
The new agreement, he said, would make the concessionaires more responsible for the maintenance of port facilities in each terminals and compelled to invest more in modern equipment.
Giving an insight into the revised concession, the NPA chief said the new agreement would factor in the port modernisation, the posture of President Muhammodu Buhari administration.
He lamented that the old agreement is outdated and that the NPA would leverage the renewal to factor in the new realities of smart port development that will make the leases more responsible for the maintenance of quay walls, fenders and allied matters such as port illumination.
He said NPA would soon conclude discussions on the terms of the agreement and once that is done, the report would be sent to the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE), Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Federal Ministry of Transportation and the Federal Ministry of Justice for their amendments and contributions.
“The agreements were signed in 2006 and while some have expired, some are still in force. But the expired ones are being renewed and what we are looking at is what will be in the best interest of the country.
“What was agreed in 2006 is no more tenable, the demands of the country and of the NPA are different from what they were in 2006. The Federal Government through the NPA has resolved to hold terminal Operators more accountable under the new agreement, on maintenance as well as on deployment of modern equipment in sufficient quantity.
He said further: “Two of the expired leases have agreed to invest in the development of the TinCan Port. The need to discuss with the other terminal operators whose leases have not expired became important since development will entail the whole berth.’’