Two months after Adegboyega Oyetola, minister of Marine and Blue Economy, reached out to Dave Umahi, his counterpart at the Ministry of Works, over the need to fix failed portions of port access roads, the rehabilitation of the Tin-Can Port access road has been completed.
Oyetola, disclosed this on Wednesday evening, while debriefing members of his technical team and expressed optimism that access roads to other ports in the country would be fixed soon.
He also disclosed that the ministry has awarded a contract for the rehabilitation of the access road to Lagos Port Complex in Lagos State, adding that the contractor would soon mobilise to the site.
On the access road to Onne Port in Rivers State, the Minister of Works said the contract for the reconstruction of the road was already being processed and that it would soon be awarded.
“The Federal Ministry of Works also understands the socio-economic importance of these roads leading to the ports in Nigeria and that necessitated the proactive steps we took, “Umahi said.
Oyetola commended the proactive measures taken by the Minister of Works and expressed gratitude for his contribution to improving the Ease of Doing Business at the country’s ports.
“Once they are done fixing the dilapidated port access roads, importers and exporters would no longer experience high transportation costs, prolonged transit times, and heightened risk of accidents, adding that “our foreign investment will increase, and our international trade competencies will also be enhanced,” he said.
BusinessDay reports that in December 2023, Oyetola wrote to the Minister of Works, appealing to him to assist in fixing the access roads leading to the seaports in the country as part of measures to not only resolve the gridlock on that corridor but to increase ports efficiency and aid the country’s economic growth.
In response to the appeal, the Minister of Works, in a letter to his counterpart, dated February 14, 2024, titled “Re: Urgent Request for Rehabilitation of the Federal Access Roads to Key Ports,” noted that “the access road to Tin-Can Port in Lagos has been completed.”
