Onitsha Port: Indian firm wins 'Transaction adviser' bid

In a bid to put the newly rehabilitated Onitsha River port into proper use, the Federal Government through the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) has commissioned an Indian firm, Messrs Green Stratus Consulting as Transaction Adviser for the concessioning of the port.

Disclosing this to participants at the 2014 NIWA's stakeholders Conference, Transport Minister, Senator Idris Umar said that the Transaction Adviser is billed to meet with a Project Delivery team by mid February to work out the modalities for facilitation of the concessioning process of the Onitsha River port.

The minister, who was represented by the Engr Nebolisa Emordi urged importers and other businessmen in the Eastern axis of the country to begin to tap into the potentials of the port with a view to reducing the cost of transporting their cargoes.

He explained that the initial process employed by Government to concession the port had to be canceled after that the World Bank met with the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) to re-design the process so as to accommodate other River ports across the country.

Explaining further, Emordi disclosed that out of the 19 firms that bid to be Transaction Adviser, only six were shortlisted for the bid and Green Stratus of India won the bid.

Emordi said "In view of t his, the World Bank in consultation with ICRC cancelled the initial process since an agreement has not been signed.

"It then initiated a Traffic Demand Study to determine the viability of the Onitsha River Port, this was concluded in 2012 and the findings showed that the Port is viable."