Funding ways to enjoy waterway potential – Inland authority

The National Inland Waterways Authority has pointed out infrastructural development and proper funding as ways to make the nation’s inland waterways attractive.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, NIWA, Dr. George Muoghalu, said this in Port-Harcourt on Friday when he hosted the Minister of Transportation, Mu’azu Sambo, who was on a facility tour and the inauguration of two new boats at the state area office of the agency.

He also said there was a need for regulatory framework aimed at actualising these benefits.

Muoghalu added the need to ensure the development of infrastructural facilities for national inland waterway networks that would connect the creeks and the rivers with the economic centres using the river ports as nodal points for intermodal exchange. 

“The huge opportunities that abound in the nation’s inland waterways can only be maximised if concerted efforts are geared towards the development of infrastructure and proper funding to make the waterways attractive and competitive to players, hence the need for a regulatory framework aimed at actualising this, which ultimately, will take the cost of providing infrastructure on roads to water at relatively cheaper cost.”

The NIWA boss said the authority had licensed several companies for the transportation of cargo across the waterways in Nigeria, especially from Lagos and Onne ports to the hinterlands and vice versa.

“To achieve more of these, the authority is poised to continuously ensure the development of indigenous manpower as well as providing navigational aids, river training works, wreck surveys and removal, establishment of river gauges, construction of jetties, capital and maintenance dredging, establishment of search and rescue stations, river-craft certification and training of boat drivers and crew, as well as continuous safety sensitisation campaigns.”

According to him, the vision of the Authority is to make Nigeria the leader in inland waterway transportation, development and management in Africa.