Posted by From Charles Onyekamuo in Awka on
Federal Government has awarded a contract valued at N2.6bn to complete the sea port complex at the Onitsha end of the Niger River abandoned years ago.
Federal Government has awarded a contract valued at N2.6bn to complete the sea port complex at the Onitsha end of the Niger River abandoned years ago.
Senator representing Anambra North Senatorial district, Chief Joy Emodi who spoke to newsmen in Onitsha on the contract, said it was awarded to Selina Inland Containers on Build, Operate and Transfer (B.O.T) terms. The company would build and manage the port complex for 25 years before transferring same to the Federal Government.
Emodi expressed joy at the award of the contract and described the project as the 'greatest dividend of democracy for her senatorial district."
She nonetheless expressed gratitude to government for listening to the yearnings of the people and the state generally, adding that awarding the contract soon after rehabilitation works began on the Niger Bridge in Onitsha portrayed government as one that felt the heart of the people.
The administration of Alhaji Shehu Shagari began the construction of the sea port in 1980, but the project was stopped by the Mohammadu Buhari administration which toppled Shagari in 1983 and had been abandoned since then.
Emodi who recently visited the water ways housing the complex said, on completion the project would engage unemployed youths and reduce the rate of criminal activities associated with idleness.