The House of Representatives member representing Badagry Federal Constituency, Hon Babatunde Hunpe, has assured that the Badagry Deep seaport project is still on course and the delay of its construction is due to processes being taken to see to its actualization, according to Tribune online newspaper.
Hunpe gave the assurance during the presentation of relief materials by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Lagos.
According to him, the processes being taken to fulfil the project takes time, hence the delays.
“I want to assure my people that the Badagry Deep Seaport project is on course. When one starts a project, people expect it to come very quickly but there are processes to follow. It is because of these processes to be taken that the project is delayed,” he said.
According to him, the project had been discussed on the floor of the house when the issue of Apapa gridlock was being discussed, noting that the Badadgry Deep seaport needed to come on board to decongest the container traffic at the Apapa port.
“This project has been on since 2016 and I have been working on it for some time now. I met the former Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Hadiza Bala Usman on the matter, and we had a long discussion where she disclosed the level that they were, which gave the assurance that the project was coming up.
“I have also seen some steps being taken by the NPA. I was able to see this because I am also a member of the House Committee on Special Duties and so, I have the privilege to know what they are doing,” he said.
On the evacuation of cargoes, Hunpe said that “The reason the government is repairing the Badagry road is to also serve the Deep Seaport project and the many countries connected by the road to aid the evacuation of cargoes.
“We are appealing to the Federal Government to put more effort to ensure that the road is completed on time,” he said.
The proposed Badagry Deep Seaport project, located in the Gberefun area of Badagry, along the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, about 55 kilometres west of the Apapa and Tin Can Island Port complexes, is being promoted as a public-private partnership (PPP) overseen by the Federal Ministry of Transportation, Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment, Lagos State Government as well as private consortium of APM Terminals, Orlean Invest, Oando, Terminal Investment Ltd and Macquarie.