Over the years, Akwa Ibom State government has been embarking on the construction of Ibom Deep Seaport as a way of boosting its revenue and decongesting other ports in the country.
The project, initiated by ex-governor Victor Attah, modeled by ex-governor Godswill Akpabio and fired by Governor Udom Emmanuel, occupies 2,565Ha of land area of the 14,517Ha.
The approximate location of the project site scaled from the British Admiralty Chart No. 1387 are Latitude 04 32’ 35” N: Longitude 080 14’ 07” E. and UTM coordinates 415168 m E; 502,199 m N (UTM Zone 32N).
The project site is strategically located and accessible through major existing and planned transport infrastructure such as airport, railway lines and federal and state road networks.
Yet, Governor Emmanuel is sad that the project seen as a viable one is bogged down by some bottlenecks one being delay in obtaining approvals from the Federal authorities.
Speaking with journalists at Banquet Hall, Government House, Uyo, on Tuesday, he noted “We have made progress in the project in that we have gotten certain approvals to commence the project, though some approvals are still being expected.
“However, it is unbecoming that an approval one should get in two minutes is gotten in two months or more.This is a major challenge facing the project. I hope it is not politics or some people are not jealous of the state.
“After several approvals, we still have to get approval from the Federal Exectuive Council, FEC. This project is in the exclusive list. No state can establish a seaport without an approval of the Federal government,” he stated.
The Ibom Deep Seaport project will be owned by the Federal Government of Nigeria through the Nigeria Ports Authority in partnership with Akwa Ibom State Government and private investors.
The Federal Government of Nigeria’s approval for the Ibom Deep Seaport project to commence under a Public Private Partnership arrangement was obtained in 2015 based on the approved Outline Business Case. The current Transaction Advisers, Global Maritime and Port Services (GMAPS) have since commenced work on the procurement stage.
As part of its industrialization plans, the Akwa Ibom State Government, is keen on implementing the Ibom Deep Seaport project as part of the Ibom Industrial City development through a Public- Private Partnership arrangement.
On Thursday, June 11, 2015, Governor Emmanuel inaugurated a10-member Technical Committee on the actualisation of Ibom Deep Seaport with an assignment to pilot the process for the actualization of Ibom Deep Seaport on or before December 31, 2018.
