N36bn Ibadan Inland Dry Port: Expectations of better life, opportunities rise in Ibadan suburb

For the people of Olorisaoko, a sleepy community in Akinyele Local Government Area of Oyo State, the signal that work will soon commence on the 80,000 TEU Ibadan Inland Dry Port, an inland extension of the Lagos seaport expected to serve the South-West, has further raised the hope of a boost in economic activities, unprecedented development and various employment opportunities. Yejide Gbenga-Ogundare reports:

Though it has been the subject of discourse and high profile negotiations for almost two years, all is seemingly set for the takeoff of the Ibadan Inland Dry Port as the Oyo State government has finally allocated land for the project and compensation paid to land owners to remove all forms of encumbrances and work is expected to commence in a month’s time.

The dry port is an inland intermodal terminal that will be directly connected to the Lagos seaport with high capacity transport. It will be for export and import purposes and is expected to lead to less traffic and congestion at the seaport and also reduce all challenges associated with the huge commercial activities at the port.

And because the inland port is expected to have a high capacity transport that allows customers to leave and pick up their standardised units like a normal seaport, the Oyo State government under the leadership of Governor Seyi Makinde has expended huge finances to the tune of N36 billion to ensure a smooth takeoff of the huge project.

The 80,000 TEU-capacity Ibadan Inland dry port is aimed majorly at addressing congestion and gridlocks in Apapa Ports and is expected to be implemented on a design, build, finance, operate, maintain and transfer model under a Public-Private Partnership arrangement. It is being designated as a port of destination where cargo would be consolidated for import and export in the South-Western part of Nigeria and will be aligned to the Lagos-Kano standard gauge railway which is currently under construction in a bid to make it easy to convey cargo from the seaports in Lagos and to all destinations along the route.

A dry port is, however, a capital-intensive project that requires a joint effort by multiple stakeholders in all aspects, including planning and funding institutions from both private and governmental sectors. Though there are diverse options for fund sourcing, the most viable as established across the world is the Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) initiative as it has proved an effective model for the provision of necessary funds.

With this in mind, the Oyo State government is working with foreign investors and has domiciled the dry port project with the Oyo State Investment and Public Partnership Agency (OYSIPA), the body in charge of investment promotion and PPP initiatives.

The agency is liaising with other partners including the Shippers Council and the Federal Government.

The director-general of OYSIPA, Hon Segun Ogunwuyi, told Nigerian Tribune that the Ibadan Inland Dry Port is basically a Federal Government-led initiative in collaboration with Oyo state when completed, it will provide import and export services, adding that this means that importers and exporters won’t have to go into Lagos to ship their goods out of Nigeria or into Nigeria.

“Literally, on your bill of laden, you can have Ibadan inland dry port as your final destination. And what does that do for us? In terms of the economy, it gives our people the opportunity to get jobs; Oyo state’s economy will be boosted because we are an equity participant of the project. That means we get profit from the business being done on our land, so we are not only giving our land to people to develop, we want to have maximum benefit from it,” he said.

Hon Ogunwusi explained that the government had been working hard to make this a reality as the present administration only met papers on the project and no tangible assets.

“We are the ones that actually gave out the land for the port when we came on board, the administration of Seyi Makinde gave out that land to the Shippers Council and the concessioner because there is this misconception that it was the former government. There was no land because none was given out and no compensation was ever paid. You have to give a land without encumbrance, meaning that you must have paid compensation on a land before you can say it is available.

He stated: “It is the government of Seyi Makinde that presented that land and paid compensation to the people. We are not in the business of saying who did this but sometimes, you have to put the record straight so that people won’t be misled. Government is a continuum; for every good policy that has been done by the former government, we will definitely continue with it and then we can add to it to spice it up to improve on it. We are now at the last stage of negotiation. It is a project of around N36 billion and we envisage that Oyo State and private investors will carry about 20 to 25 per cent equity stake in it while foreign investors will carry about 75 to 80 per cent, but that is still being negotiated as I speak.

“And I believe that will be settled and in the next one month, they can turn the sod on the inland dry port and work commences. And when we talk about work commencing, if a construction work is being done, imagine the multiplier effect because most of the people that will work there even at construction stage will be from Oyo State. They will not be brought from anywhere

“In the full business case, they have 12 months to build the inland dry port, but the negotiation timeline is not predictable because everyone wants to ensure they are getting the best. We as the government want to be sure we are getting the best for the people of Oyo State and obviously the private investors want to get the best for their company. That is why it’s going back and forth, because it is a tripartite negotiation involving the Federal Ministry of Transportation being represented by the Nigerian Shippers Council, the private investors and Oyo State government

We believe strongly that in the next one month, negotiation will be concluded and we can move on. What is in it for the people? There is employment; economy will be improved. Take the simple example of accommodation; that means people working there, from Customs to SON, NAFDAC and federal government agencies, police etc there will be a need for accommodation and you will see a lot of private sector-driven estates springing up around that area and for the government which will also. We will get revenue because Oyo State now becomes a state with a port. We know the kind of economy that is happening around Apapa and Lagos generally.

“It will also lead to increased infrastructure, because the port will also bring in access road. Oyo State in collaboration with the concessionaire will do around 12 kilometre road so that it will be easy to convey containers and goods from the port to the highway. So, there will be improvement in infrastructure, job creation, boost in economy and revenue for the people of  Oyo State in addition to multiplier effect like PAYE. Everybody that works there, even federal government agencies staff have to pay their PAYE where they work and reside, so it will increase IGR for Oyo State.”

The Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) through its Head of Public Relations, Mrs. Rakiya Zubairu, has also confirmed that negotiations are about to wind up; adding that at the end of the negotiations, an updated Full Business Case Compliance report will be produced.

“After, a draft agreement will be presented to the Federal Ministry of Justice and sent to the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission, (ICRC) for vetting, after which the Minister of Transportation will present the agreement to the Federal Executive Council. The concessionaire will then be taken to the site for sod-turning and immediate commencement of the construction of the port which is expected to be complete within a period of 12 months,” Zubairu said.

Except any unforeseen circumstances arise, all appears set for the takeoff of the construction of the Ibadan Inland Dry Port, IDP, the China Railway Construction Corporation Limited, the preferred bidders, are in tandem with government.

NSC executive secretary, Hassan Bello, had also earlier been quoted to have expressed satisfaction with the proceedings as all parties have expressed firm commitment to the actualisation of the project.

Members of the community are already in high spirits as many have expressed optimism that the project will be a plus for the community and its people. A community leader, Sodiji Ogunbanke, told Nigerian Tribune that the community is looking forward to the commencement of the project, adding that, “we know the fortune of this community will never remain the same. I know many of our people will come home to work when they start construction.”

Their optimism may not be unfounded as there are indications that it is part of negotiations already that local content must be utilised at every stage of development and operation of the facility.

“We have been assured that our children will benefit from this as they will be given jobs throughout the construction of the project and even when it starts operation. This is a source of joy to us and we are anxiously waiting for this to take off,” Mrs Orisatoki Margaret, another resident, stated.

The OYSIPA boss urged the people of Olorisaoko to support the project.

“Our expectation and appeal to people of that community is to see the project as their project and know that it can turn the sleepy town into an economically buoyant one. They should cooperate with government and investors so that the project can happen because it is done to leverage on the rail corridor and we will see an exponential growth in terms of population, housing and the economy of that area will never remain the same.

“The people should see the initiative as an empowerment for them and key into it. Oyo State will continue to nurse the good relationship between the state and the NSC to achieve the desired economic transformation targeted by the Seyi Makinde administration,” Hon Ogunwuyi said.

 

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