NIWA Managing Director, Alhaji Ahmed Yar’Adua, gave the assurance during the National Good Governance Tour to Baro Port, Niger State. Yar’Adua said “at the moment, the dredging is 70 percent completed,” adding that the dredging, which started in 2010, could have been completed by December 2012 but work was slowed down due to lack of access road to the site and the recent flooding which affected the pace of work.
He said: “In fact, we actually slated to complete this work by December, but unfortunately, you are aware of the unprecedented flooding which swept almost all riverine areas. “The only access road we were able to do was washed away. As it is now, some of the materials cannot be brought in until the water comes down. “That is why we have to shift the time for completion. We estimate that by March of 2013, work will be completed.” Yar’Adua further said he was confident about the completion date because the steel sheet piling, which is a major component of the project, was completed recently.
He revealed that the construction of a wharf site, which is 150 metres off seaside, had been carried out in addition to sand filling of about 420,000 cubic metres. Yar’Adua also told the delegation that NIWA had begun discussion with the private sector on how to effectively utilise the Baro Port, stating that a transport company in Lokoja had agreed to construct four barges of 500 tonnes each, which would be deployed to Baro for the transportation of goods through Lokoja to Warri. Responding, the Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, said the dredging of the River Niger, which was conceived in 1954, could not take off until the emergence of Jonathan administration due to instability in governance which was brought about by long years of military rule.
Maku said he was hopeful that upon completion of the project in 2013, the nation would fulfill the aspiration of its founding fathers, especially in the utilisation of inland waterways for the transportation of goods and humans. Maku revealed that the Federal Executive Council recently awarded a consultancy contract for the design of the dredging of River Benue from Lokoja to Yola in order to boost inland waterways transportation in the country. Similarly, he said the Federal Government had awarded contract for the procurement of two barges to ferry passengers on the River Niger when the dredging is completed.
The contract for the dredging of the Baro Port, which was awarded at a cost of over N3 billion, involves the construction of ship house, ware house, administrative block, police station, water treatment plant, shore protection, staff quarters and other auxillary works. When completed, the Baro Port will accommodate five barges of 1000 tonnes each.
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