Onitsha River Port

Shipping industry stakeholders while applauding the Federal Government for refloating Onitsha River Port after about 30 years of comatose, make strong case on how the River port, among others being rehabilitated can be sustained to boost commercial activities across the country, reports Francis Ugwoke

After about 30 years of inactivity, Onitsha River Port was two weeks ago refloated in what promises to boost commercial activities in the South East. For big time importers from the commercial towns of Onitsha, Nnewi, Aba and Ogbete-Enugu, the decision  by the Federal Government was  a welcome  development . And this is for obvious reasons.The port could be a big relief for importers from the South East who have over the years moved their trade goods from Lagos, Port Harcourt and Calabar ports by road. The problem associated with transporting goods to long distances is usually nightmarish, one of the reasons why government is planning to introduce Inland Container Depots (ICDs)  in the six-geo-political zones in the country. Poor road network and security concerns have been problematic for importers who have to transport their goods to far distances. 

There have been cases of container or truck hijack as well as breakdowns that leave importers at the risk of highway robbers. Sometimes, the  drivers connive with robbers to hijack such goods, leaving the owner to suffer huge economic loss.  The importers are also at the mercy of Shylock transporters who charge exorbitant fares to take containers from far away Lagos to the East.  Calabar port which would have helped was deserted because of the low cap of the Ikom Bridge  and rampant robbery cases. Delta Seaport which is nearer to the  East was also faced with   piracy and other hostilities that  have affected the  fortunes of the  seaport. The rail system would  have  addressed this problem, but    totally absent where needed.

At the  relaunching  of the  of the  N4.6bn  River port in Onitsha,  President Goodluck Jonathan said the project  was part of government’s  efforts to improve  on all forms of transport system in the country  “The river or marine transport must be enhanced and to do it, we need inland port like the one in Onitsha. Our target is to link all the ports by roads and rail so that doing business in Nigeria becomes easy. The river ports must be linked up to other areas of resource. Today, the process is being started and others on the drawing board must be completed.”, the President said.

He expressed optimism  that a well-developed inland water transportation system will  be a   big relief on the  highways. Incidentally,  most of the express roads  from  Lagos to Onitsha, down to  Benue State are in a state of dilapidation.  The worst area is in Ore,   Ondo State and  Enugu-Onitsha road  which are in very bad shape, although  under reconstruction, but  in a snail speed.
With the  River port, industry stakeholders, including  the  former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mr Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) told THISDAY that  government  should   be effective in its promise to ensure that the River Port does not  go comatose the way it has been in the past 29 years.

Onitsha River Port:
The River port was a beehive of activities between 1979 and  1983 before it went down.  The port served   traders from the  South East, Middle Belt  and Niger Delta. One of the problems of the River port is the  Onitsha bridge that makes it  difficult for  big  boats  to pass through.  As a   River port, the draught is   shallow and therefore  limited to  few ferry type boats . But  despite  these problems, Onitsha port boomed  till 1983 when it collapsed.  The    River Port Complex now has    new facilities, warehouses and cargo handling equipment  like every other seaports. It is currently under the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA)  which also supervised the execution of the project.   The Deputy General Manager,  Corporate Affairs, NIWA, Mr. Tayo Fadile told THISDAY on phone  that the  River has fully been refurbished  to serve importers  better. He  added that  importers from the zone do not  need to go to Lagos, Port Harcourt or Calabar to clear their  goods as  such goods can be  moved  by barges  and cleared at  the River port. “Whatever  you find in bigger ports is here, except that ocean going vessels cannot come here, but  the traders can send these goods from Lagos  or any  seaport through barges to the port.”, he told THISDAY.  Transport Minister, Senator Idris Umar who  disclosed that the effort to refloat  Onitsha River Port Complex started in 2009, described it  as “another milestone in the quest to re-position the inland waterways”. He  also added  that   the facility involved the construction of a new port building, staff quarters, erosion control, and procurement of modern cargo equipment.

Umar who described the  river port  as Nigeria’s largest river port  said it would also make for effective transportation of goods and progressively open other inland waterways to ferry goods to different destinations in the country.

   “The strategic location of Onitsha, as a major centre of commerce within the West-African sub-region, makes the Port complex, a multi-model network of complimentary accesses for cheap, efficient and seamless movement of people, goods and services around the country. It is necessary to note that Rehabilitation and Equipping of the Onitsha River Port has a distinct position as one of the hubs identified in the Inland Water Transportation Masterplan and serves as a major North/South trade link. The development of the port therefore is aimed at stimulating economic activities that will enhance wealth and job creation”, he added.

Umar said that  the new River ports will  assist  the government  in the efforts to   decongest existing Sea Ports as well as create employment opportunities and encourage trade in the hinterland.

To  ensure  its efficiency,  Umar  disclosed that in  order to ensure the sustenance of the dredged channel of the Lower River Niger, the Federal Government intends to set up Channel Management Company in partnership with the Private Sector.

Running  Onitsha Port
Because of the huge capital outlay  required in running any port  by way of providing  and maintaining infrastructure at the River port,  industry stakeholders  have been in doubt  how far NIWA  can  cope  running the port with low subvention from the Federal  Government.  Maintenance dredging runs  into billions of naira. It cost the government the sum of N9bn  in dredging the Calabar port.  . 
Fadile told THISDAY that  there are plans to concession the River port along with others without much delay.  These include  the Lokoja  River port, that  has  started operation;  Baro River Port,  in Niger State, Degema River Port in Rivers State, Oguta River Port in Imo State which are  nearing completion. It is  expected that these River ports will be concessioned  in the next one year in phases.

How to Sustain  Onitsha Port,  by Stakeholders
Industry stakeholders  who applauded the Federal Government  for the Onitsha  River project  said government should  match its words with action   to make the River port  succeed. Olisa Agbakoba  who spoke to THISDAY said that it was unfortunate that the seaport failed in the first place, adding that the benefits of  River ports in  boosting economic activities cannot be over-emphasised. He called on the government to  first  consider as a matter of urgency the need  to concession the River Port  to a company that can run it efficiently, adding that this is because government is  not good in business. He said that when run very well, the port will take away about 70 percent  of road traffic. He also said that  it will facilitate movement of goods from the North to the South East.  He added that it is not just enough to have  a River port, but to link it with multi-modal  form of transport, including railways. He  also added that  the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA)  and not NIWA should run the port, apparently because of the huge financial outlay required in running a  port system even under concession.

A maritime economist and agronomist, Mr. Osita Machie  said that one of the things that will sustain the port is continuous dredging of the  River Niger. He   said that this was because in every  rainfall,  about 1,000 metric tonnes of sand  enter the River port and make  it  more shallow.  He   called on   government to engage marine engineers to  study  the terrain of the River Port  to know whether there are rocks which can be blasted to allow easy flow of  Ferries, boats and badges in the  port environment. A maritime lawyer, Mr.  Emma Ofomata also told THISDAY that government should strengthen its maritime security to  ensure that  goods being moved in badges to the River port either from Lagos, Portharcourt or Calabar can be protected.  Ofomata said that this was in considering the activities of pirates on the nation’s territorial waters.