Abia dry port can’t work without rail line – Otti
From Boniface Okoro, Umuahia
Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, his identified lack of rail line to access the Abia Inland Dry Port (IDP) at Avo Ntigha in Isiala Ngwa North local government area as the major factor stalling the project.
Actual work on the Abia Dry Port project approved in 2007 by the federal government during the administration of Governor Orji Uzor Kalu, meant to receive containers from Port Harcourt wharfs, has yet to commence, after witnessing two ground breaking ceremonies.
The development of Inland Dry Ports (IDPs) across the country was an initiative of the Nigeria Shippers Council. The Abia Dry Port was concessioned to Eastgate Inland Container Limited and it is the only IDP out of the six approved across the country that is yet to be completed as the concessionaires usually abandon the project after flag-off ceremonies.
Asked during his first Media Chat in 2024 on Thursday night at the Banquet Hall of Government House, Umuahia, about the plans of his administration to ensure the realization of the project in his time, Governor Otti maintained that for the project, expected to improve businesses and investment in the South East to come on stream, the issue of access must be sorted out.
The Governor who said he was engaging with the Nigerian Shippers Council on the project, said he told the group that that the issue of the mode of transport from the wharfs in Port Harcourt to the dry port must be sorted out.
“We must talk about the rail line which is attached to the original plan of the project,” Governor Otti said, adding: “If you don’t sort out the rail line from Port Harcourt, it will be difficult for the dry port to work.”
The Governor used the forum to disclose that government would embark on flood control projects in Aba, especially in Ariaria. “It is an ambitious project, it will take about 18 months to complete and will be divided into phases,” he said.
He also assured that the state government was committed to keeping the environment clean, noting that in the last few weeks, Abia State Orientation Agency (NOA) has been educating the people on the disadvantages of living in a dirty environment and promised that more waste bins would be provided for waste management in the state.
The Governor passionately appealed to residents of Aba to imbibe the habit of keeping their environment clean and to stop littering of the environment and roads with dirt, stressing that a clean environment was germane to attracting investors to the state.
He promised that the state government, at all times, would continue to prioritise the welfare of all Abians.
