NIWA decries slow pace of work at N5bn Lokoja port

The management of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA)  has expressed serious concern over the slow pace of work at the N5 billion  Jamata River Port in Lokoja, several years after the contract was awarded..

The over  N5 billion Lokoja River Port  contract was awarded to Inter Bau Construction Limited, alongside that of the Baro port several years ago but was abandoned by the contractor, even when the Baro port had long been completed.

Job on the River Port is about 40 per cent completed, leaving only uncompleted buildings and abandoned equipment at the site, as the contractor and his workers are not on site.

The Managing Director of NIWA, Dr. George Muoghalu while on assessment tour of the project said that the Federal Government will take steps to engage the contract and relevant stakeholders to bring life back to the project.

“We are here to see what can be done to save government’s investment here. We cannot allow it to waste. That is basically why we are here today.

“The port is very important to the socio-economic development of the country. The local community and, indeed, Kogi State, which is the host state will equally benefit from the effective operation of the port.

“I can assure Nigerians that the Federal Government under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari is very desirous of ensuring all-year-round navigation on the lower Niger.

“If the waterways transport is effective, it will reduce pressure on our roads, and they will last longer, because heavy goods will now be transported through the waterways instead of the road,” the NIWA MD stated while on assessment tour of the Lokoja river port.