Oyetola Woos Foreign Investors to Nigerian Ports

Mr Oyetola said this in a statement on Sunday in Abuja, signed by Mrs Anastasia Ogbonna, the Ministry’s Director of Information and Public Relations.

This was disclosed by Mr Oyetola when he received a delegation from DP World, owners and operators of the Port of Dubai.

Mr Oyetola reiterated the Federal Government’s readiness to cooperate and welcome investments for the development and management of infrastructure in its port system.

According to him, the Nigerian government is keen on deepening the private sector.

“Over the weekend when I received a delegation from the DP World, I affirmed that the government is open to investments in the sector and assured that the ministry will provide the needed impetus to interested parties for such ventures.

“I welcome the proposal by the Port of Dubai to establish an industrial park to complement the ports and provide a logistics base for processing for exports.

“We have an extensive coastline and abundance of lands suitable for the development of industrial parks,” he said.

The minister urged the Dubai delegation to come up with a formal proposal for the interest for consideration by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).

The Minister said that the government was working to digitise and automate all port processes to reduce human and physical interface to the barest minimum.

He said this aligned with the ongoing modernisation plan to increase the draught level of the nation’s ports to a range of between 16 to 16.5 meters, to regain Nigeria’s status as a transshipment hub.

He noted that the government’s initiatives varied and were not limited to implementing the Cargo Tracking System, the Port Community System, and the National Single Window.

According to him, these are all geared towards increasing efficiency and reducing turnaround time at the ports.