Vincent Toritseju
Lagos — The African Import Export Bank, AFREXIM Bank, in collaboration with the Infrastructural Concession Regulatory Commission, ICRC, have approved a $1.2billion loan facility to rehabilitate the moribund Burutu Port in Delta State.
Disclosing this at the just concluded Nigerian Port and Trade Investment Forum held in Lagos an official of AFREXIM Bank, Mr. Hope Nyongo, said that there is an initiative called ‘‘the Joint Project Preparation Facility’’ for anybody that has a port related project he or she wants to develop.
Nyongo explained that there are ways to access funding support from the Bank explaining that some of the windows include ship acquisition, platform developments, dockyard services, terminals and port development adding that anybody can apply once the person has the necessary documentations.
He disclosed that the Business Case for Burutu Port has been prepared by the ICRC and encourage investors with similar projects to take advantage of Joint Project Preparation Facility to develop such facilities.
He stated: “Because of the typical nature of the maritime and the lack of internal capacity, we have a facility called the Joint Project Preparation Facility initiated by Afri-Exim for port related development in Africa. That means that anybody that wants to develop project in any maritime assets that he or she want to develop. Consultants with experience will be brought into the project develop Bankable feasible feasibility studies that can be funded by the Bank.
“So, this is how our partnership works, if you ready, you can come, like we are talking to Burutu Port. ICRC has already approved $1.2billion for Burutu Port and they have done the Business Plan.
“Now we are in partnership to see how to develop the moribund Burutu Port.
“For the Benin Port we will be willing to support, and we are looking at the funding as part of infrastructural support.
“We are arranging a consortium of multi-lateral financial institutions, local financing institutions and export credit institutions that can provide the resources and partnership together for the funding.”
He also disclosed that the Bank is also working the Nigerian Navy on the Burutu slipway for the Navy to build whatever small crafts they want to build.
