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Deep Seaport: FG Issues Cross River OBC Certificate
Aminat Isah, Abuja
The Federal Government has on monday issued the Cross River State Government with an Outline Business Case certificate (OBC) for the construction of its deep seaport.
Speaking at the Federal Ministry of Transportation while receiving the certificate, the State Governor, Ben Ayade, said the certificate would enable the state move on to the next level of implementation of the seaport.
“The certificate is an Outline Business Case. It shows that there is a full densification commitment of the Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Transportation to say yes we have come to recognise and accept that Cross River State Government should go ahead with the Full Business Case towards the construction of a deep seaport.
“And the emphasis on the deep seaport is agro-industrial, not exclusively, but to show that the core target is to do an agro-industrial transformation of Nigeria. It will be the major leading port in that respect but will have other industrial parks.”
Ayade said the issuance of the OBC by the Federal Government through its Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission to Cross River state was the fastest ever recorded in Nigeria, saying that work commenced there over six months ago when the state got the EIA approval which allowed it the legal right to get access to the ocean.
“But right now with this OBC certificate, we are going to be dealing directly with the concessionaires towards arriving at the specific location, data and commencement of actual work plans. But that can only come with the FBC.”
The Minister of Transporttation, Rotimi Amaechi on his path said the OBC, would move the state deep seaport to the next step of action.
According to Amaechi, the FG would take the next move to verify all the necessary instruments needed and then proceed back to the Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission for the FBC before proceeding to cabinet for approval.
“But the most important thing is that we are speeding it up so as to enable those states who want to invest in seaports and others to go ahead and do so.
Amaechi further said the “We will sit down with the Cross River State Government and their major partners and see how much NPA would want to invest.
“We will contact NPA and see what it can do,” said the Minister
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