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By Steve Agbota
The Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, yesterday said that the visit of President Muhammadu Buhari to the $1.5billion Lekki deep seaport will mount pressure on the developers to fast track the completion of the project. The President who came into the first deep Seaport in Nigeria after commissioning Dangote fertiliser located few kilometers aways from the deep seaport, inspected the breakwater, quay wall and other landside facilities of the port.
The Lekki Deep Seaport, when operational, will help regain lost cargoes from neighboring Benin Republic, Togo, Ghana and others African countries.
Speaking earlier, the Minister of transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, said the president toured the deep Seaport, to publicize the project to Nigerians.
He said after completion of Lekki Port, the federal government would begin construction of Bonny Deep seaports after completion of the Lekki Deep Seaport.
“I am convinced that we would commence work in Bonny Bonny deep seaport before we leave Office. Also, Ibaka Deep Seaport has gotten government’s approval and we are fast tracking the approval of Badagry Deep Seaport, so they can also get their own approval.
“By the time we leave office, all those people who would have been granted approval are all private seaports. The only one that government will participate in its ownership is the Bonny seaport.
He, however, said that the deep seaports is almost ready as the cargo handling equipment will be ready in June while commercial operations will begin in September.
“The reason for asking the president to come to Lekki Port, is to publicise the seaport so that people will know this Government is building the first deep seaport in Nigeria. The other ports in Nigeria are all river ports.
“The next reason for the president coming, is also to put the heat on them (promoters), you know that the port is almost ready, if not for the equipment, they can actually get this place ready before June, but they said the equipment are arriving by June,2022 and installation will take them till September and the it can be commissioned in September,” he said.
