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By Steve Agbota
Operators in the Eastern Ports have renewed calls on the Federal Government to urgently complete the dredging of Calabar Port and rehabilitate the dilapidated Calabar-Itu highway, warning that continued neglect is costing both government and private investors billions in lost revenue. Daily Sun investigations revealed that government agencies such as the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and terminal operators are grappling with declining income as a result of the shallow depth of the Calabar Port, which prevents large vessels from berthing at its terminals.
Stakeholders estimate that over N70 billion will now be required to complete the dredging project, which has stalled for years.
Mr. Emmanuel Enobong, a maritime stakeholder, commended successive managements of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) for attempts to revive the port, but stressed that stronger government support and private sector participation are critical.
“The greatest challenge at the port is its shallow draft, a development that shrank operations with its attendant loss of revenue to the Federal Government and other players. “A few years back, the government commenced dredging but it was stopped. At the time, completion was around N50 billion. Today, it will cost nothing less than N70 billion”, he said. A clearing agent, Mr. Mike Opara, lamented that cargo throughput at the port remains abysmally low, leaving clearing agents idle and depriving Customs and terminal operators of revenue.
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“We hardly see work here, unlike Lagos ports. The government must set aside funds for NPA to complete the dredging. Calabar Port is strategically located close to neighbouring countries, but because it’s not viable, importers avoid it,” Opara said.
Customs authorities have also corroborated these concerns. Mr. Chukwudi Ogbonna, Customs Area Comptroller for Cross River/Calabar Free Trade Zone/Akwa Ibom Command, disclosed that revenue has sharply declined due to both the shallow channel and the deplorable highway.
“The Calabar Port would have been receiving between 50 and 100 vessels monthly, but the non-dredging of the river channel has restricted it to about two to three vessels monthly,” Ogbonna said. “The bad state of the Calabar-Itu road also worsens matters—it takes three to five days for a container to get to Calabar Port from Onne.”
Stakeholders unanimously urged the Federal and State Governments, alongside private investors, to prioritise the dredging and road rehabilitation, warning that further delay would continue to cripple trade, jobs, and revenue generation in the region.
