The Federal Government entered into an agreement with 23 concessionaires in 2006 and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) as well as staleholders had called for a review of the agreement over non-compliance with the terms by all parties.
The Managing Director of NPA, Hadaza Bala Usman who made this known at the ongoing International Associations of Ports and Harbour (IAPH) meeting tagged, “African Ports and Interland Connectivity” in Abuja, explained that the reviewed concession agreement would help re-assess the values of leased assets as well as factors that inhibited the realization of the objectives of the concession.
Usman said goveenment had realized that poor dredging, dilapidated road infrastructure around the ports, inconsistent government policies and lack of regulatory framewor had hindered seemless port operations in the past while operators had also not kept to the terms of agreement.
The MD stated that the reviewed port concessioned agreement between the NPA and terminal operators would introduce sanctions to any party who failed to carry out its responsibilities as stipulated in the agreement.
She stated that NPA was seriously working with the World Bank, terminal operators and other stakeholders to ensure that the agreement comes into effect as a perfect document.
