The Minister of Transportation, Mu’azu Sambo, has charged the management of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), to ensure prompt deployment of the N50 billion modular floating dockyard.
The Minister, while giving the charge, described the deployment of the modular dockyard as one of the low-hanging fruits in the sector, which will benefit Nigerians.
The Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Bashir Jamoh, revealed that the deployment would support shipbuilding, repairs and recycling in the country.
According to him, this would assist indigenous shipowners in the disbursement of the much-awaited Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) as ships would now be built in the country to generate revenue.
He said both agencies are set to complete the operationalisation of the modular floating dockyard with the installation of dolphins and repair of dilapidated facilities at the NPA facility, where the floating dock would be operated.
Jamoh noted that NIMASA has completed the ongoing discussions with its managing partners and co-partners to provide the continental shipyard for anchoring the dockyard.
“Since we brought the floating dock, there is no space for us to keep it.
Three separate facilities would be needed; a shipyard that would warehouse the modular floating dock, a foundry that would convert the wrecks currently being removed all over the country into reusable materials and a dockyard that would use the recycled materials from the foundry to manufacture new vessels.
He said the agency is not targeting only Nigeria, but the entire Gulf of Guinea, as well as international ships coming into the region, as they would have to start using the facility.
