Jos ICD project 62% completed --- Shippers Council

Harboursandport.com: Lagos --- The Executive Secretary of the NSC, Hassan Bello, has said that the Inland Container Depots, ICD project Jos, Plateau state has achieved 62 percent completion. 

Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi

Bello who disclosed this in Lagos said that the concessionaire and the state government are working hard to ensure that the project is completed on time because of the economic benefit to the state.

He said government is very serious about the development of the ICDs projects across the country not only because of its capacity to bring development to their area of operation but also the ability to creation jobs for the army of unemployed youths in the country.

He said as a result of the important role of the ICDs projects to opening up of the economies of the states where they are located, the minister of transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, is working seriously to ensure that these projects come on stream as soon as possible.

On the ICD in Kaduna, the NSC boss said all is set to the commissioning, explained that the state government is approved the construction of an in and out road leading into and out of the ICD. He pointed out that the Council is working closely with all the relevant bodies, the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, and others to ensure that its operates as a full port when it starts receiving cargo in full.

According to him, “The one at Isialangwa, they have just signed agreement with their technical partners from Canada in the presence of the Abia state governor.

“All the ICDs concessionaires are working very hard, including Funtua, including Kano, they are working very hard to see that they start. You know the mistake of Shippers’ Council wanted all the facilities to work together but we have realized that it cannot work that way.

“Now we identify a place where there is seriousness and we encourage them. The concessionaires for Isialangwa are very serious people, so also are the ones for Funtua, so also the one in Kano.

“We expect all of them to work at their own pace, some of them have challenges with their states government and that is outside our scope, we can only intervene by encouraging the state government to support, so they cannot be at the same level.

“But we have also issued a warning that if any of them is not able to compete without certain period of 18 months, then the concession is threaten. For all of them but for some like Jos you cannot say 18 months because they have achieved 62 percent.

“What is even more important is the interest and enthusiasm with which the minister of transportation has shown on these projects, you could see him going everywhere to inspect these projects because the minister is concern about the employment content of the projects," he noted.