Posted on December 20, 2021
The Minister of State for Transportation, Sen. Gbemisola Saraki has urged the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), to ensure constant maintenance of waterways to achieve the required draft in maritime business.
Saraki, who spoke at a launch in Port Harcourt, the Rivers state capital at the weekend observed that Nigeria’s stake in Maritime trade, is high, but the right environment must be created and maintained.
Speaking through the Managing Director (MD) NIWA, Dr. George Moghalu, the Minister said: “A country blessed with more than 10,000 Kilometres of inland waterways is certainly a nation with great maritime potentials if such natural environments are properly harnessed.
“Inland waterways are verifiably the cheapest and safest means of transportation and also plays a critical role in multimodal transportation.
“It is therefore compelling that the waterways must be dredged to achieve the required draft, adequate surveys, mapping and charting with marker bouys with signages put in place, and every necessary steps taken to in ensure safe navigation.
‘”It is only in such a state of internal infrastructural development that the much needed investment can be attracted.
“This is one of the reasons I have directed three years ago that NIWA ensures regular in-house maintenance, dredging of the waterways, it is therefore gratifying g to note that some of the vessels we are commissioning today, the tug boat and the House boat are part of the dredging equipments necessary for a smooth dredging operation.”
