Yakubu Busari
Following the plan by Federal Government of Nigeria to diversify the country income generation and create employment opportunity to unemployed youths, the Plateau state government has declared its readiness to partner with private sectors to boost economic base of the state.
The Commissioner of Land and Survey, Barrister Fetus Fauntier said the importance of citing the inland container dry port in Plateau state cannot be over emphasis because it would help toward internal revenue creation to the jobless youths.
He said as government they are willing to create enabling environment that will attract investors to come into Plateau state.
This gesture will solve the yearning need of the masses, a significance that government is set to revamp all the abandoned industries across the state.
The head of delegation from, Federal Ministry of Transport, Mr Ogunlaye Ogunsola assured Duncan group of companies of their support toward rebuilding Inland dry container port in Heipang Plateau state.
He said their visit to site of Duncan group of companies in Heipang is to conclude arrangement for work to resume soon at the site.
The Chairman Duncan Group of Companies, Duncan Maritime Ventures Ltd and Duncan International Inland Container Depot Ltd, AVM Umaru Abbas appreciated the relentless effort of the Executive Governor of Plateau State His Excellency Rt. Hon. Simon Bako Lalong for his commitment to see that the state is repositioned through his people oriented policies in strengthening businesses that will improve the lot of the state.
“The company have already keyed into this laudable window of partnership, as a result of which the state government had sent a powerful delegation led by his Chief Of Staff, Mr. John Dafaan to the ICD site to see the demolition carried out on our buildings by the previous administration.
“He believed the visit is a step in the right direction which will lead to the full realization of the ICD in Plateau state.
Abbas commended the support as he said “we have been receiving from the North Central Zonal Coordinating office of the Nigerian Shippers Council in Jos, which have been encouraging and standing by us all through.
According to him, Jos Inland Container, located in Heipang District of Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State has a land mass of 33.7 hectares, with a capacity to handle 25,000 (TEUs) annually.
The Depot was competitively bided for alongside renowned world class shipping companies like the MEARSK, under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Transport (FMoT) through the Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE). At the end of the exercise, Duncan Maritime Ventures emerged as the preferred bidder and was awarded the concession, with a concessionary period of 25years on a Build Own Operate and Transfer (BOOT) model.
He explained, the Federal Government gazetted the ICD on the 16th of May, 2006, while they were granted operational license to operate an ICD by Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) on the 25th February, 2008.
“Armed with this, we moved to site of 7th September, 2009 and on 28th December, 2011 we submitted our drawing to NSC/JMDB and resubmitted same on the 9th of February, 2012, which led to the Jos Metropolitan Development Board (JMDB) granting us the provisional approval to commence work on 7th April, 2012.
“Abbas added that based on work plan we had projected to commence operation by March 2016, but this dream was truncated by the immediate past administration in the state, who through the Jos Metropolitan Development Board (JMDB) demolished the structures at the ICD on the 23rd July, 2014.
He thanked the present administration in the state, under the leadership of Governor Simon Bako Lalong, who has demonstrated strong desire to have this facility take off effectively.
Pointing out that apart from visiting the Nigerian Shippers Council personally, he has sent appropriately government officials and agencies on visits to this site.
”May we also inform you that, we have made remarkable progress with the various Plateau State Government ministries and agencies towards the effective take off of the project. However we appeals to them to fast tract efforts on the following issues, to enable us fulfil our earliest desire to ensure the full realization of the project.
