Amid the increasing foreign exchange challenges, local shipowners in Nigeria can now find some relief as the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has officially taken control of the areas allocated to it by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) at the Continental Shipyard.
This step is taken to facilitate the operation of the N50 billion Modular Floating Dock, which aims to alleviate the need for local shipowners to drydock their vessels in neighboring African countries due to the lack of a functional shipyard in Nigeria.
The area transferred to NIMASA encompasses various facilities including the dolphin jetty, the waterfront adjacent to the slipway, administrative buildings, construction, welding and mechanical workshops, as well as a civil maintenance workshop, among others.
At the ceremony for the handover, Dr. Bashir Jamoh, the Director General of NIMASA, emphasized that the transfer of the Continental Shipyard to NIMASA signifies a significant step toward realizing the agency’s goal of deploying the modular floating dockyard.
While represented by Mr. Kabiru Diso, the Head of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Unit, the DG reassured stakeholders that the deployment of the Modular Floating Dockyard is imminent, following the resolution of any outstanding issues between NIMASA and NPA.
“The Modular Floating Dockyard is a national asset and now that all grey areas between the NPA and NIMASA have been addressed, we are very close to the deployment of the Modular Floating Dock.
Our goal is to domicile dry-docking of vessels in the country thus saving the nation foreign exchange currently expended on dry-docking vessels outside the shores of Nigeria. The floating Dock will also provide both direct and indirect employment to Nigerians with a multiplier effect on capacity development.” He said.
The Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission (ICRC) has issued a certificate of compliance for an Outline Business Case (OBC) pertaining to the operation of the modular floating dock. The ICRC has also deemed the project as bankable and sustainable.
Designed to accommodate vessels of up to 10,000 Metric Tons, the Modular Floating Dock is set to operate under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement.
