Ibom Deep Seaport will boost Economic Transformation… ICRC

ABIOLA Seun

The acting Director-General, Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Mr Chidi Izuwah on Tuesday, highlighted why the development of the Ibom Deep Seaport should be vigorously pursued, as he stressed that when completed, the project would create more jobs and transform the nation’s economy.

Izuwah indicated this in a statement issued by the ICRC spokesperson, Mrs Manji Yarling, at the Request for Proposal Bid Opening and Evaluation for Ibom Deep Seaport (IDSP) ceremony, held in Lagos.

The event had in attendance Akwa Ibom state governor Emmanuel Udom, the Akwa Ibom Technical Committee on IDSP, representatives of the Ministry of Transportation, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Ministerial Project Development Steering Committee.

The ICRC Boss, at the ceremony said that the project aligned with the industrialisation project being carried out by the Akwa Ibom State Government through the Ibom Industrial City Project.

“The seaport will form part of an integrated industrial city to help foster economic development of the country.

“It is nearby South -South and South- East regions, with Akwa Ibom state thereby driving economic transformation and empowerment of Nigerians.

“Its circle of economic influence is expected to extend radially to the North Central, North Eastern and North Western zones,” he said, noting that after the completion of the Public Private Partnership bid evaluation, the next step would be selection of the preferred and reserved bidders.

After that, he said the Full Business Case and the ICRC Certification would be issued.

Izuwah explained that after the ICRC Certification, the project would have to be approved by the Federal Executive Council before the ground breaking, positing that the Ibom project was expected to successfully go through all the processes before the end of December.

The Ibom Deep Seaport is PPP project and a key initiative of the Federal Ministry of Transport and the NPA designed to rapidly develop port capacity in other parts of Nigeria and alleviate congestion in Lagos.

The Project Development, Procurement and Implementation were done under the PPP regulatory guidance and oversight of the ICRC.

The Ibom Deep Seaport is expected to occupy 2,565 hectares of land area in Akwa Ibom state.

The project site is expected to be strategically located and accessible through major existing and planned transport infrastructure such as airport, railway lines, as well as by federal and state road networks.