FEC approves $370.5bn contract for Onne Port

TheFederal Executive Council on Wednesday considered and ratified President Goodluck Jonathans anticipatory approval for the award of contract to fast-track the development of the fourth phase of facilities at the Onne Port Complex, Rivers State.The council, presided over by the Vice-President Namadi Sambo, awarded the contract in the sum of $370.5bn in favour of Messrs Intels (Nigeria) Limited.The Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, told State House correspondents at the end of the meeting that the sum would be payable at the prevailing exchange rate at the time of payment.Maku said that the project had 40 months as its completion period.He, however, said that the funding of the project was coming completely from the firm, which he said had proven overtime, particularly in the first three phases of the port that it was dependable.He explained that the company was able to take a risk at a time when most investors in the private sector were not forthcoming by partnering government to put funds on ground to develop the port facility.The minister said repayment would come from taxes paid from the port over a period of time.This, he further explained, would free governments stringent budget conditions, particularly in the public sector, and enable it to have access to capital from the private sector for the development of the port.Maku recalled that the construction of the port complex began in the early 1980s as one of the strategies to decongest the Lagos and Port Harcourt ports.
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