Indication has emerged that the reconstruction of Nigeria’s second largest seaport, the Tin-Can Island Port in Lagos, will gulp about 600 million US dollars (N360 billion).
Recall that the Nigeria port Authority hinted at rehabilitating the Tin-Can Island Port created 47 years after it was constructed, noting that it has reached its full life circle.
The Managing Director (MD) of NPA, Mohammed Bello-koko, on Friday on Arise TV revealed that the authority needs about 600 million dollars for the reconstruction of the Tin-Can Island Ports Complex.
Bello-koko said: “The decision to carry out a holistic redesign of the port was reached after extensive consultations with the terminal operators. It was agreed that a holistic design of the new port should be made as against the option of allowing terminal operators to individually reconstruct their berths and terminals.”
The MD further revealed that if terminal operators are allowed to do it individually at their own time, it might impinge on the integrity of the quays, which would not pay off in the long run.
He said the other option is for the NPA to approach the federal government to request that it should be allowed to use a certain percentage of the funds it transfers to the Consolidated Revenue Fund, for the reconstruction.
“We transfer about N60bn on a yearly basis and so the government could approve that we use 40 per cent or 50 per cent of this amount for the reconstruction. We actually believe that we do not need to borrow to fund this project.
“Another option is to do a hybrid funding whereby the terminal operators would fund this reconstruction, but the issue here is that while some terminal operators could have the financial strength to carry out the project, others might not, and if we allow them to do it individually, it might affect the integrity of the quays,” he added.
