WorldStage Newsonline– The Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mr Mohammed Bello-Koko has listed the urgent need to rehabilitate, reconstruct and moderate the dilapidated port infrastructure facilities as the main trust of the 2024 budget from which the agency is expected to generate N629.89 billion.
Bello-Koko who stated this while defending the 2024 budget before the House of Representatives Committee on Port and Harbour in Abuja on Thursday said the agence is asking for a N200 billion loan from Afrexim Bank with the United Kingdom Export Finance (UKEF) also listed as one of the financial institutions to source the loan.
He put projected expenditure at N464.32 billion, while the operating expenses were projected at N212.03 billion and the capital expenditure stood at N252.29 billion.
He explained that the defects in the facilities were hampering efficiency and productivity in the ports, saying that the defects include the quay walls and the replacement of old gravity walls.
According to him, another is need for rehabilitation of Escravos breakwaters.
According to him, this is aimed at improving port efficiency and increasing cargo traffic through investment funding from the financiers, UKEF and Afrexim.
The Chairman of the Committee, Rep. Nnolin Nnaji, said the agency is very dared to the country, hence the need for the committee to visit some of the facilities outside Lagos.
“We need to see those things you are telling us. The House of Representatives is very serious about budget defence, while they do screening on the other side, budget defence is here, ” he said.
He commended the managing director for the budget presentation, saying that he believed in the subsequent budget, the managing director would do better,
“We accept this budget, and we will move further with it,’’ Nnaji said.
The lawmaker also said the drainage channels were full of wreckage and expressed concern over lack of information on wreckage removal.
Nnaji, however, said as long as the NPA avoided the wreckage, it will keep occurring because of the abandoned ships.
He urged the NPA to look into it.
