NIMAREX 2015 to address trade promotion, access to fund

As industry operators get set for this year’s edition of the annual Nigeria Maritime Expo (NIMAREX), the planning committee says this event will focus on addressing issues that deal on promoting international trade and access to funds for operators.

Speaking in Lagos recently, Ayorinde Adedoyin, chairman of NIMAREX 2015 planning committee, who said this, also noted that the annual expo had been able to attract the attention of the government to the untapped potentials of the nation’s maritime industry.

According to him, access to funds for the execution of maritime related projects has become a major challenge to the development of the sector. Another challenge, he said, is that Nigerian maritime sector has many regulators, and this makes it difficult to put all the organisations and parties together to actually make them understand what the problems are.

“The major problem we have is funding. Operators who get contract need fund to acquire equipment needed for the execution of such contract. This is why this year’s NIMAREX will be looking at the possibility of getting people with funds to meet with people who need the fund. We will also try to get people who have equipment to meet with people who need the equipment,” he said.

Continuing, he said: “NIMAREX has been an eye-opener to people in the industry. It has also been able to make government to look at the opportunities in the maritime industry. NIMAREX has done very well, but we can’t say it’s 100 percent yet. And that is why we are looking at other avenues by concentrating on trade than policies. Our aim is to focus on things that will impact on the industry operators.”

NIMAREX 2015, which is the fifth in the annual series, is slated for March 29 to April 1, at the Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.