Strike: NPA to reconstruct failed port access roads with N4.3bn

Following the strike action which grounded port operations in Lagos yesterday over failed port access roads, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, (NPA), Ms.  Hadiza Bala Usman, has said that the Authority would be spending N4.3 billion for the reconstruction of the affected roads.

Managing Director of Nigeria Ports Authority, NPA, Hadiza Bala Usman

She assured that the Authority would take over the construction of the failed portions of the port access roads even though it is not the responsibility of NPA. She however noted that the full construction of the road which includes proving full utility provision of drainage among others is placed at N4.3 billion.

According to her “We in the authority believe that these roads are priority to us so we have identified budgetary heads for them, we are going to budget for them in spite of the fact they are not under our purview.

"We have stipulated budgetary provisions for them in our 2017 budget and we will embark on full reconstruction of the road. One of the initial ones we have agreed on is the full reconstruction of the wharf road, we have embarking on that with Dangote Group, Flour Mill and the NPA for full reconstruction and we would provide funding for reconstruction of that road.

"The width of the roads would be 12 meters with full utilities deployed; it is going to be a concrete road they would have a life span of 30 years. The construction will start within a month; we are going to sign an agreement with the Federal Ministry of Power Works and Housing, flour mills and Dangote group on implementation of the project.

"The ministry of works at Wednesday NEC meeting would seek approval to embark on reconstruction of wharf road and by then final approval would be issued in the manner acceptable and we would be able to do same with Liverpool as soon as we get the final engineering designs"

"The holding bay is also being constructed by the ministry of power works and housing and we have intimated them on the need for NPA to take over the holding bay and give it to a private sector to manage it"

"The roads is a huge embarrassment to Nigeria as a whole considering the amount of money that government was generating from the port"

She assured the stakeholders that recommendations on their demands shall be forwarded to the presidential committee on ease of doing business and NPA would do a follow up on them. 

She assured that the construction company is willing to deploy to site pending the signing of the MoU. 

However, the stakeholders were not pleased by all assurances given by the NPA boss. They demanded that immediate concrete steps be taken to apply palliative measures on the roads.

Situations at the various ports in Lagos showed that all cargo delivery processes were put on hold pending the outcome of the meeting between the protesters and representatives of government.

Besides the protest against the poor state of the port access roads which they have described as death traps, they are also complaining about arbitrary charges and extortion.