ICRC delegation at Kirikiri lighter terminals in Lagos

1^st  March, 2016. THE management of the Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission, ICRC, is presently working round the clock to complete the concession of the phase one and two of the Kirikiri lighter terminals in Lagos.

Disclosing this Lagos during a tour of some port facilities, Director General of the Commission, Mallam Aminu Diko said that the move to concession these parts of the nation’s port facilities was to ensure that the facilities are used maximally while earning monies for both government and concessionaires.

Diko who visited fishing trawling firms in Kirikiri told the occupants of both the phase one and two to brace up for the forth coming concession exercise of the terminal so as not to lose out in the process. He advised them to come together and form a consortium with a view to coming up with formidable bidding team and proposal. He explained that no government agency will support one proposal over another, adding that it is a typical market economy.

Typical market economy

The ICRC boss had visited some terminals in Warri, Delta State to have first report of the situation on ground. At the Kirikiri Lighter terminal, Diko maintained that Public Private Partnership (PPP) remained the best option to finance infrastructure gap. He said that the concession of the three projects as a PPP option was to resuscitate infrastructure decay and close the gap in the deficit. He explained that the country, though blessed but with the present economic situation, government cannot muster the kind of funding needed to build more infrastructure.

“The public private partnership should not be seen as privatisation; PPP allows the private sector to repair and rebuild infrastructure as well as recoup their investment for a stipulated time.

“The ICRC is involved in the monitoring of the projects to ensure delivery at the expected time,’’ Diko said. He added that the Federal Government was not buoyant to invest in such new projects, except in partnership with the private sector. Diko said that with the concession, Nigerians and foreign investors would partner with the government to close the infrastructure deficit gap and rebuild the economy. He, therefore, said that the government had identified the private sector as an engine of the economy.

Source: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/03/icrc-set-to-concession-lagos-lighter-terminals/