– NPA reviews plan, engage communities
Esther Oritse
Lagos — The proposed and long-awaited National Port Master plan is currently gathering momentum as the management of the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA has begun the review of plan as it moves to sensitize stakeholders in and around the ports to brace up for expected changes.
Speaking on the sideline of the just concluded quarterly meeting of the Nigerian Port Consultative Council, NPCC, Mr. Musa Muktar, an Assistant General Manager of the NPA said that under the terms of reference, after every milestone of the plan, there is always a stakeholders’ engagement.
Muktar disclosed that an interim report has been submitted after which an approval will be sort and then followed by a stakeholders’ engagement at every step of the plan.
He further disclosed that there have been two stakeholders’ engagements both in Lagos and the Eastern ports adding that a second interim report on the plan has been submitted and another round of review is in the offing.
He said: “After the review and approval of the second interim report, we are going to schedule and embark on another sensitization of the port community and other stakeholders on the progress on the plan so far.
“The port Master plan is a process thing; it is not something you just do in few days or few months. It is something we have to follow through step by step as it will take a little while before we can finally say yes we have a port master plan on ground.
“The port master plan is actually for 25 years and above, it would guide the NPA’s future port development.
“On the port rehabilitation and modernization, NPA has done a great deal of job on this as well. In Lagos, we have about two major infrastructures that needed to be urgently addressed because they are in a deplorable state.
“There are Tin-Can Island ports and Apapa port. Apapa port is not the entire port area, the major issue we are concern about is the ENL Terminal ‘C’ and ‘D’ and berth 4 and 5 under Apapa Bulk Terminal Limited, ABTL, because these terminals constitute the second wharf extension.
“There were built around 1962, and the type of construction then were gravity walls and by gravity walls we mean the use of concrete blocks, utilizing its sheer weight to support any berthing vessel.
“And over time, we noticed that these gravity walls are tilting towards the water which signifies structural failure, but we cannot say this failure is sliding or overcoming because they are designed based on 9.7 meters depth.
“But if you go there now, they are almost 11 to 12 meters due to over dredging because they are located at the bend of the Lagos lagoon. Sometimes when water is going back to the sea, it always come with heavy current and by so doing, it will be eroding the gravity walls which further deepen the gravity walls beyond their designed depth.
“On the Eastern flank, we have a lot of infrastructural deficits, for instance, the Escravos breakwaters was built around 1960 or so and it has submerged completely giving way for silt and sediment into the main navigation channel.
“We have gotten funds from China EXIM Bank to rebuild the breakwaters with about seven years moratorium. We are hopeful that by end of this year actual reconstruction work will commence and it will take 42 months to complete these projects.”
