FEC Okays Port Facilities For Badagry

FECThe Federal Executive Council on Wednesday approved a memo for an outline business case for the development of the Greenfield port facilities in Badagry, Lagos State.

The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola (SAN), briefed State House correspondents at the end of the FEC meeting chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The minister noted that development of the facilities was delayed due to the refusal of the former administration to approve it.

Fashola, who recalled that work on the port began in 2012, said that it would be financed by the private sector.

He added: “There are bigger vessels now being built across the world that require larger depths and drafts berth. Now, some of our competitors on the continent are building bigger ports. So, if we don’t build this port, we risk becoming uncompetitive and we risk a threat to our maritime hub status”.

Speaking also, Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, said‎ the federal government expected the concessional agreement on the port facilities to take five years to construct.

“It is going to bring a total of $2.558bn into the system, and the federal government and Lagos State government will not contribute financially other than the land given by the state”, Amaechi said.