From Uche Usim, Abuja
An effort to swell federal government’s revenues from non-oil sources has crystallised with the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approving three Public Private Partnership (PPP) Projects to be executed in the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) that will ultimately generate $1,110,384,387 to the country.
According to the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), the projects which are under its regulatory guidance, are the Eastern Offshore Waste Reception Facility, Central/Western Offshore Waste Reception Facility and a Floating Dry Dock. These projects were approved by FEC following the issuance of Full Business Case Certificate of Compliance (FBC) by the PPP regulatory body, the ICRC.
According to the Director General of the ICRC, Michael Ohiani, who issued the FBCs for the Offshore Waste Reception Facilities (OWRF) projects earlier in 2022, said that the move demonstrates the commitment of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to the environmental wellbeing of coastal communities as well as offshore fishermen.
“The essence of the approvals by FEC for the OWRF is to put in place a standard facility for use in Nigeria international waters in compliance with the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) 1973/1978.
“The goal of the proposed partnership is to protect the offshore environment, provide a visible deterrent for offshore polluters from a surveillance point of view and reduce the current level of pollution to the benefit of offshore fishermen and coastal communities.
“The OWRF projects will essentially help keep the seas and oceans clean. Each Facility when completed, would be adequate to fully meet the needs of ships and other installations regularly making use of the facilities; contribute to the improvement of the marine environment; allow for the ultimate disposal discharge of wastes from ships and other installations in an environmentally friendly way”, the ICRC stated in a statement.
More details on the Eastern OWRF show that the Design, Finance, Build, Operate, Maintain and Transfer (DFBOMT) PPP model will be adopted with XPO Marine Services Limited as the concessionaire for an initial period of 10 years.
“The projected total revenue from Eastern OWRF for the entire concession period due to Federal Government based on revenue sharing ratios is US$279,487,228.35.
“The projected total revenue for the entire concession period from the Central and Western zones due to the Federal Government based on the revenue sharing ratios is $765,289,988.
The concessionaire for the Central and Western OWRF is African Circle Pollution Waste Management Limited and the concession period is also 10 years.
Also approved by the Executive Council is a management contract to Operate, Maintain and Transfer (OMT) the Floating Dry Dock (FDD) of NIMASA. The FDD is for the repair of cabotage vessels.
The concessionaire, J. Marine Logistics Limited, is to manage the Modular/Floating Dry Dock for a period of 15 years.
Total revenue accruing to NIMASA for the 15 years concession period – $65,607,171(N27,226,975,965). When fully implemented, the project is expected to create over 800 direct and indirect jobs.
Beyond revenue generation, the project is also expected to create jobs, develop capacity and provide maintenance facilities for ships and boats.
The Federal Executive council also approved a PPP project in Ikeja Lagos, for the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) to develop a commercial mixed use complex that will comprise houses, hotels, recreational facilities as well as office complexes.
The FRCN PPP project was approved for a concession period of 55 years with expected revenue for the period put at N14.9 billion while the concessionaire is Fish Valley Investment & Property Limited.
