Nigeria projects $10bn revenue from national shipping line

The Nigerian government is projecting to earn over $10 billion annually from the National Shipping Line it is planning to re-establish. It says the shipping will also engender growth and further unleash the potential of the country’s marine sector.

Adegboyega Oyetola, minister of marine and blue economy, said this at a maritime stakeholders’ roundtable in Abuja, where he unveiled the Federal Government’s plan to re-establish the national shipping line.

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Oyetola, in a statement signed by Olujimi Oyetomi, director of press and public relations in the ministry, said the shipping line would operate on a public-private partnership (PPP) model to fashion out strategies and policies that will drive development in the maritime sector.

The minister said that the sector could be transformed through the PPP models of synergy between the private sector’s efficiency and the public sector’s oversight which will spur growth and open opportunities for local players in the sector.

According to him, the additional value for local players particularly, includes ship construction, maintenance, and repairs as this would enable local businesses to better leverage the Cabotage Act, which gives Nigerians the exclusive right to control locally generated seaborne trade.

“The ministry’s decision to consider the re-establishment of a National Shipping Line, through a strategic PPP arrangement, is borne out of our desire to capture a substantial share of the estimated $10 billion annual ship charter market within the country. Let me hasten to say that this initiative will not seek to impede the growth of local players but rather provide an avenue for them to create and extract more value from the sector, especially through ship construction, maintenance, and repairs.

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Highlighting Nigeria’s strategic position with an expansive coastline and navigable waterways, the minister emphasised the crucial role the marine sector plays in fostering sustainable economic growth. He said the event aimed to bring together industry players to collaboratively discuss and chart a roadmap for advancing the sector’s potential.