The Nation Newspaper

Tag: dredging

  • Calabar Port: Dredging ignites hope on $10b investment

    Calabar Port: Dredging ignites hope on $10b investment

    •Investors worry over litigation

    Optimism has been rekindled over the  $10 billion investment in Calabar port following the flag-off of its dredging by the Federal Government.

    The huge investment, operators said, had been put on hold for seven years.

    The flag-off ceremony was done by  the Minister of Transport,  Senator Idris Umar, who represented President Goodluck Jonathan.

    But some of the major investors at the port, it was gathered, are worried over the litigation that may follow the flag-off ceremony by the company that bided for the contract before the procurement process was cancelled by the management of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).

    Some of the companies that have huge stakes in the port, include General Electric, Tinapa Business Resort, Calabar Free Trade Zone, ECM Terminals Ltd, Intel Services and Cocoa Industries.

    Some of the officials of the companies, who spoke with The Nation under the condition of anonymity said they are happy over the efforts of the government to dredge the channel, but are worried over the controversy surrounding the award of the N20 billion contract by NPA, which they said may stall the process.

    The shallow nature of the water channel, they said, has made it impossible for bigger vessels to sail through, thus contributing to the reason many importers are not patronising the port and the reason why they have not made profit on their investment.

    Findings revealed that the draft at approach of the port was 6.4 metres at high tide and 5.4 metres at low tide.

    The concession agreement, the investors said, stipulated that the Federal Government will take the draft to 9.5 metres and that the Bureau on Public Enterprise (BPE) had told them that the draught would be achieved on start of business.

    Between August 2007 and December 2012, it was learnt, only 680 vessels patronised the port. ”The non-completion of the dredging of the channel to the advertised draft of 9.4 metres is the biggest threat to the development of the port with adverse effect on our financial projection and cargo throughput was predicted on the completion of the dredging as assured during the concession exercise.

    “Companies like Flour mills, Unicem and Dangote and others do not enjoy the economy of scale in their vessel nominations to Calabar due to the fact that their full load arriving vessel has to lighten some cargo tonnage in Lagos before calling at Calabar Port due to draft limitations. Hence, a cargo ship load that could have come at once per voyage ends up being conveyed down to Calabar Port in two or three voyages,” the official said.

    Findings revealed that no container ship visited the port in the last four years.

    The Minister at the venue said the dredging would be performed by the Calabar Channel Management (CCM) and Messrs Niger Global Engineering and Technical Company Limited.

    He explained that the channel would be deepened from its present eight metres to 10 metres.

    Investigation revealed that it may take the dredging firms up to two years before they will complete the remaining 24 kilometres to be dredged.

    Sixty killometers of the channel, the Minister said, has been accomplished through the past dredging efforts.

    The Calabar port, he said, would attract more ships by the time the contractors finished their job.

    In his speech, the Cross River State governor, Senator Liyel Imoke said he was not happy about the poor state of the port.

    He said nine years after, the Calabar channel dredging contract had not been completed.

    “We hope that this time around, the project will come to stay. This project is not about dredging of Calabar port channel, It has become a sentimental issue to us.”

    He said the port has been severely under served the people of the area and that it has not realised its true potentials.

    The governor, however, noted that the successful completion of the project will boost the economy of the state, noting that many companies depend on the port to realise their objectives.

    In his address, NPA’s  Managing Director, Mallam Habib Abdullahi said his agency  would ensure the success of  CCM in its operations and overall management of the channel.

    He assured that the activities of CCM would open up  market for Calabar region and the entire South- South.

    A member of NPA board, Senator Florence Ita Giwa urged the the government  to modernise the Ikom B ridge and Odukpani  road, saying that, without it, the dredging would amount to nothing.

  • Reps halt NPA’s $1b dredging contracts

    Reps halt NPA’s $1b dredging contracts

    The House of Representatives yesterday ordered the Nigerian Ports Authorities, NPA to stop the award of dredging contracts across the country.

    The House also mandated its Committee on Marine Transport to probe funds meant for channel management and capital dredging, check the quality of work done by the contractors.

    This came against the background of the allegation of incompetence against the technical partners contracted by the NPA to execute its dredging and channel management projects across the country.

    The resolution of the Chamber was sequel to a motion by a member, Hon. Herman Hembe (PDP, Benue) before the House on the need to investigate dredging arrangements entered into by the NPA and sub-contracting parties that carry out dredging operations in Nigeria..

    According to the House, until it concludes an investigation into all agreements entered into by the organization with foreign technical partners for the management of critical port channels in the country, all further awards of contracts should be suspended.

    Hembe while presenting the argument of the motion revealed that Nigeria had wasted over €60 million (about N9.5 billion) in the botched 84-kilometre Calabar port channel dredging contract which he said ended without any noticeable achievement.

  • FEC okays N58.88b for ship building, dredging

    FEC okays N58.88b for ship building, dredging

    The Federal Executive Council (FEC) yesterday approved N58.88 billion for the construction of ship building, dockyard facilities and dredging work, the Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar, has said.

    Umar, who spoke to State House correspondents at the end of the FEC meeting in Abuja, stressed that the ship building facility and dockyard in Delta State will cost N40.2 billion, adding that the project will boost training of personnel at home as the government is losing about N1billion on foreign training of the personnel.

    He said The Netherlands ship builders, which is the second largest ship builders in the world, has been engaged to partner with the NIMASA on the project.

    He said that another N18.4 billion will be spent on the civil work and basic infrastructure for the facility

    The Federal Government, he said, also approved N274.9 million contract for the dredging of escravos/ Warri/ Aladja Channel, which is to be completed in 10 months.

    While disclosing that the Onitsha port will soon be concessioned by the government, he said the port which is 2.5 metres deep was not built to carry ocean going vessels.

    “I brought two memos to the council seeking approval for the award of contract for the construction and dredging of Escravos, Warri and Aladja to Koko channels for N274.9 million inclusive of all taxes with completion period of ten months,” he said.

  • Fed Govt to probe Calabar Port dredging contract

    The Federal Government is set to probe the Calabar port dredging contract allegedly awarded by the Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mallam Habib Abdullahi.

    The deal was awarded to Niger Global Engineering and Technical Company Limited, which was said to have neither bidded nor taken part in the selection before the Presidential approval was sought, The Nation has learnt.

    The Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) for the contract was said to have been signed by NPA and the company on January 25, this year.

    Abdullahi, sources said, has between this and next week to explain to the Federal Government what happened and why the multi-billion naira dredging contract agreement was signed with a company that has prior records with NPA and without following the due process.

    Both the Presidency and the ministry, sources further said, have directed that the matter be investigated based on the petition sent to the Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar by the Chairman, Board of NPA, Tony Anenih, over the award of the contract.

    Anenih had in a five-page letter dated April 25, 2013, titled: Appointment of Calabar Channel Management Company Limited to Manage the Calabar Channel Under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) Agreement with the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) sent to the Minister, raised questions about the award of the contract, which he alleged did not follow due process.

    The NPA chairman also called for the reappraisal of the contract and questioned the basis for choosing the consortium to manage the company.

    ”The purpose of this letter is to respectfully draw the attention of the Honourable Minister to the Joint Venture Agreement, which was made on the 25th of January, 2013, between the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Consortium lead (sic) by Niger Global Engineering and Technical Company Limited.

    ”The said Agreement created a partnership arrangement between NPA and the Consortium and gave the Consortium the right to operate a Joint Venture Company, Calabar Channel Management Company Limited, where NPA holds 60 per cent equity and the Consortium 40 per cent.

    ”The circumstances that led to this Joint Venture Agreement and the terms, need reappraisal in view of the fact that as at the time the Agreement was signed, there was no reference records of the Consortium on the basis of which it was selected to manage the proposed Company,” Anenih wrote in the letter to Umar.

    Anenih lamented that despite the fact that the approval given by the Minister of Justice for the contract was conditional, officials of the NPA and the Federal Ministry of Transport “decided to engage in selective compliance by amending some parts and ignoring some other parts of the Draft Agreement, particularly those provisions that tend to give absolute control of the finance and management of the Joint Venture Company to the consortium rather than the Board of Directors of the Calabar Channel Management Company Limited”.

    Other issues raised by the chairman include: That the consortium had no reference whatsoever of previous jobs done, they were alien to the Calabar Channel Project and did not even take part in the bids of 2010 and the later re-procurement process. The consortium was also not pre-qualified and did not pass through the selection like the other companies.

    “It, therefore, follows that the Presidential Approval for the appointment of the consortium led by Niger Global Engineering and Technical Company Limited to enter into a JVA with NPA, which culminated in the agreement to form Calabar Channel Management Company Limited, was obtained without following due process,” Anenih added.

     

     

     

    It further alleged that the only company among the seven companies that form the consortium, which ought to lead the consortium is Nigeria Westminster Dredging that was prequalified for the first procurement exercise and not Niger Global Engineering and Technical Company Limited that has poor records with NPA.

     

     

     

    Besides, it stated that the spirit and letter of the JVA signed between NPA and the consortium led by Niger Global Engineering and Technical Company Limited are not only skewed in favour of the consortium but also offend international standard and the extant laws in the maritime industry in Nigeria having regard to the refusal of officers of NPA and the Ministry of Transport to effect the necessary amendments.

    The Federal Government, sources said, is therefore, investigating why two new companies were added to the first six companies that were earlier prequalified for the re-procurement especially when it was discovered that one of the companies had not been registered at the time the bid was done in 2010.

    The process, through which the contract was awarded, the source said, has become an embarrassment to the government. That explains the insistence of government to probe the level of the involvement of top government officials in the scam so that appropriate sanctions could slammed on them if found culpable.

  • ‘Fed Govt lied over Benue River dredging’

    Contrary to what was contained in the Mid Term Report on Achievements of President Goodluck Jonathan about the dredging of River Benue, it has been discovered that no provision was made for the implementation of the project in 2013 budget.

    A copy of the document obtained by The Nation in Abuja, showed that the project was at procurement stage.

    It reads: “Procurement processes are on for the dredging of the River Benue and the construction of Makurdi River Port.”

    Stakeholders in the transport sector have expressed disappointment over the non-inclusion of the dredging of the Benue River in the 2013 budget. They accused the government of paying lip service to its promise of dredging the river.

    Investigation by the newpaper revealed that no provision was made for the project as the cost of the project was not reflected in this year’s budget. Therefore, the government only made mere pronouncement with no commitment.

    An official of the government, who spoke in confidence to The Nation, said: “Government promised to make available necessary provisions to ensure that the dredging commences before the end of the first quarter but here we are with nothing. It’s really a sign of un-seriousness on the part of the government.”

    Another source at the National Inland Water Ways Authority (NIWA), wondered if the dredging of the Benue River will take the Federal Government 30 years that it took it to dredge River Niger.

    However, members of the House of Representatives from Benue State and the executive council of Benue State, have started pushing for the quick implementation of the project, it was learnt.

    During the meeting of the National Council on Transport (NCT) in December last year, the Federal Government promised to embark on the dredging before end of first quarter of this year.

    At the end of the meeting, which involved commissioners of transport and regulatory agencies, a communiqué issued by the Minister of Transport, Sen. Idris Umar and Commissioners for Transport from two other states stated that the project would start alongside construction of Makurdi River port.

    Part of the communiqué read: “That the Federal Ministry of Transport should expedite action on the dredging of the Lower River Benue, the Development of the Makurdi River Port, and other Ports and Jetties along the Lower River Niger and River Benue.

    “The Federal Ministry of Transport should encourage Inter-Ministerial and Inter Agency collaboration, to ensure effective utilisation of the nation’s water resources, inland waterways, river basins and others.

    ”In view of the recent incidents of flooding in many parts of the country and their impact on transportation and its infrastructure, that Council should advocate for the convocation of an all-stakeholders’ summit to address the problems of flooding holistically with a view to finding appropriate solutions.”

     

  • Flood: Probe dredging of River Niger, activists tell FG

    Former Secretary-General of Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Mr. Udengs Eradiri, has called on the Federal Government to probe the dredging of the River Niger following the ravaging floods that has left thousands of people homeless along the bank of the river and other parts of the country.

    Eradiri, who made the call while handing over relief materials to some displaced persons in Bayelsa State, said the probe has become necessary because the reasons given for the dredging of the river have been defeated by the floods.

    “Owing to the floods that are ravaging Nigeria, one begins to wonder if there was need to dredge the River Niger in the first place. The reasons they cited then were the excess sand in the river, navigational purposes and mostly to forestal flooding that could damage lives and properties of those living along the bank of the river.

    “That was why over N3 billion was earmarked for the project. But the question now is: where is the 10 cubit metres of sand expected to have come out from the dredging exercise?” he asked.

    He said the “contractors discharged the very sand they were supposed to dredge out back into the river. They deceived Nigerians and I am calling on the National Assembly to swing into action just like they did in the fuel subsidy regime.”

    In his reaction to the flooding in Bayelsa State and the rest of the country, Comrade Wilfred Frank Agbatobo, a member of CPC Renewal Committee, said the disaster is an indication that “there is much to be desired in the way and manner we have managed our part of the earth and like in the days of Noah, the emptiness, wastage and corruption in our humanity have come to the fore.”

    He called on the governments and people of Nigeria to use the unfortunate development as an opportunity for deep reflection.

    On Bayelsa State, Frank Agbatobo regretted that the state has remained stagnant because of what he described as divisive tendencies since 1999.

    Eradiri on his part called on lawmakers to monitor funds approved by the Federal Government to be used for the states affected by the flood, saying they may end up in private pockets. “Those who sit in cossy offices in Abuja cannot feel the pains of the people displaced by the floods and I guarantee you that 90 per cent of the fund released by the government will go into private pockets,” he said.

    Eradiri also called for the revocation of the contract for the construction of the East-West road, alleging that the contractor is yet to achieve up to 10 per cent of the job.

    He said: “We are bitter as a people because the Ministry of Works keeps on saying that it has spent over N25 billion on road repairs. They should show us the roads and the President should stop using helicopters to his village. He should drive through the roads and feel the pains of the Niger Delta people. He should also stop relying on pseudo security reports aimed at extorting money from him. Hundreds of our people have lost their lives on that road.”