Saraki calls for reconstruction of Tin-Can Island Port

The Minister of State for Transportation, Senator Gbemisola Saraki, on Monday in Lagos, called for the immediate and total reconstruction of the Quay walls of Tin-Can Island Port, insisting that the decaying of Quay walls follows years of neglect on the part of the previous government. The minister’s call reaffirmed the position of the Nigerian […]

The Minister of State for Transportation, Senator Gbemisola Saraki, on Monday in Lagos, called for the immediate and total reconstruction of the Quay walls of Tin-Can Island Port, insisting that the decaying of Quay walls follows years of neglect on the part of the previous government.

The minister’s call reaffirmed the position of the Nigerian Ports Authority which had raised the alarm that the Quay walls of Tin-Can Port were in a state of near collapse.

The NPA also called for a total reconstruction of Quay walls of the Tin-Can Island Port Complex which have become weak due to age. 

Speaking during an inspection tour of the Lagos Port Complexes on Monday to ascertain the position of things, the minister said: “We cannot build on a weak foundation; it is vital that we get these two very important ports modernised and ready to berth modern vessels. The state of the ports shows decades of neglect but it is better late than never.”

Managing Director of NPA, Mohammed Bello-Koko, had allayed fears of the imminent collapse of the Tin-Can Island Port Complex, insisting that the authority was already at conclusive stages of sourcing for funds.

He said it includes talks with competent multilateral funding institutions and the possibility of the authority using a percentage of the revenue or transfers to CRF to fund the reconstruction. 

Bello-Koko said, “We are on the verge of concluding discussions with multilateral funding agencies to fund the reconstruction. The other option is to go to the government to request that the NPA be allowed to use a certain percentage of its revenue which is transferred to the consolidated revenue fund (CRF) on a yearly basis to fund the reconstruction. We transfer about N60 billion a year and we can use about 50 percent of that to repair Tin-Can.

Another option is to do hybrid funding where NPA funds part and multilateral agencies fund the rest.”

He said the final option is for the terminal operators to fund the reconstruction but the issue is that not all the terminal operators have the same financial capacity or will be able to source funds at the same time.