Oyo Govt’s Demand For Equity Stalls Work On Ibadan Dry Port Construction

IBADAN - The request for 15 per cent equity by the Oyo State government has stalled construction on N43.24 billion Ibadan Dry Port project.

Speaking over the weekend in a meeting with the Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, at the government house in Ibadan, on the sidelines of his visit to the Inland dry port site, minister of transportation Rotimi Amaechi said allocation of land for the Ibadan Industrial Park and the Ibadan Dry Port halted the development of the dry port project as the Oyo state government has only made available part of the land required for the projects.

At the meeting, there was a renegotiation of the contract between the minister and the governor to address the burning issues in the previous arrangement.

The construction company said they were yet to get approvals to utilise certain portions of the land as Oyo State government made available 44 hectares when 90 hectares are required for the project.

The State governor however said the state was interested in having a stake in the project to ensure the viability of the investment and sustainability irrespective of subsequent changes in administration.

Meanwhile, executive Secretary of Nigerian Shippers’ Council Mr Hassan Bello has disclosed that the initial request for land was for the dry port which required 44hectares while the more recent project, industrial park needs an additional 46 hectares.

Amid the land allocation challenges inhibiting the Ibadan Dry Port project in Oyo State, Amaechi revealed that he declined Ogun State government an opportunity to float a dry port project because of Ibadan IDP.

The transport minister, therefore, encouraged the governor to support the project by giving the investors sufficient land.

Amaechi also warned that the port access roads crisis in Lagos may be replicated in Ibadan if the state government doesn’t provide alternative roads for the impending freight services and IDP.

“In June, the president will commission the rail line and afterwards we intend to route cargoes via that track. Cargoes would begin to come in and that would add pressure to your city because there are no roads to cater for this increase in vehicular activities. We should have a link road between the IDP to the Lagos-Ibadan expressway. Even if this IDP wasn’t there, I have advised that if we don’t intend to crash Ibadan down, there should be a road to link the Moniya to the old Ibadan railway. The reason is that the moment trucks start lifting cargoes from Moniya, there would be pressure on the roads leading to the city,” the minister said.

Amaechi equally stressed the need for sufficient power supply and posited that the issue of 15% equity participation by Oyo state government, means Oyo must contribute something to get equity.

In his reaction, governor Makinde said: “we don’t want a grade b or c road connecting Moniya to the city because we have learnt from what happened in Apapa. We are looking at top quality infrastructure that would fit into the plan of the inland dry port and prevent the headaches characterized by Apapa gridlock. The Chinese company already has a contract to construct the Shaki to Ogborongbo road.”