…Says the $2.5bn project now 55.48% completed
By Myke Uzendu, Abuja
Minister of Transportation, Hon Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has expressed satisfaction with the quality of work done at Lekki Deep Sea project and cautioned that the project must be completed and opened for commercial activities in the second quarter of 2022.
The Minister made this known today during a meeting between the Federal Ministry of Transportation, its agencies, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and Lekki Port LFTZ Enterprise Limited, handlers of the Deep Sea project in Lekki, Lagos State.
The Director of Press and Public Relations, Eric Ojiekwe quoted the minster as saying that he will not condone any shift in completion date by Lekki Port management to fourth quarter of 2022.
He said: “There was an agreement that by second quarter of 2022, you’ll commence commercial activities and you said, yes, in the presence of the Vice President, Yemi Osibanjo. So whatever work plan you have, reverse it now and go back to the agreement.”
On the call that the Lekki Port be captured under the current rail system being embarked on by the Federal Government, Amaechi replied “when we went to the seaport in the United Kingdom, there was no railway, it was just road, so nothing that says that we must do a rail track to this place. Whenever there’s another government and they have money, they can proceed with that sector”.
Earlier, the Chairman, Lekki Port LFTZ Enterprise Limited, Abiodun Dabiri, briefed the Minister and his entourage on the status of construction of the Port, saying the entire port construction is now at 55.48% completion.
Speaking further on breakdown of the status of the components of the port, Dabiri disclosed that dredging and reclamation has reached 61.11%, Quay Wall 50.39%, Breakwater 67.49% while the landside infrastructure development has reached 33.70% completion.
Amechi further disclosed that upon completion, Lekki Port would be a world-class port operating, with best-in-class equipment to ensure seamless operations and would comply with global environmental protection standards. He added that Lekki Port would be the deepest seaport in the sub-Saharan African region and will serve as a transhipment hub for the region.
Also speaking, the Acting Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, Mohammed Bello-Koko informed that the agency has commenced the process of acquiring all necessary marine equipment required for the smooth take-off of the project.
The Minister later took a tour of the Lekki Port in the company of the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Transportation, Dr. Magdalene Ajani, Director, Maritime Services, Sulieman Auwal, Director, Legal Services, Pius Oteh, Executive Secretary, Nigerian Shippers Council, Mr Emmanuel Jime and the Director General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Dr Bashir Jamoh among others.
The Lekki Deep Sea project which was flagged off in 2018 has 1600 workers out of which 300 are expatriate while the rest are from the host communities.
Globacom announces commencement of Pre-paid Roaming, 4G Services in China
Leading telecommunications service provider, Globacom, has commenced pre-paid roaming, data roaming and 4G LTE services in China and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The company announced this in a statement released from its Lagos headquarters.
It noted that the expansion of its roaming service to prepaid customers in China and UAE is a part of efforts to continuously enrich the experience of subscribers to its network. It further stated that the commencement of the services in these countries is a continuation of its foray into different strategic locations across the world where Glo services can be enjoyed by its customers.
Globacom has the largest roaming footprint covering over 500 networks across over 90 countries, while its roaming rates across different countries are the most competitive in the industry, the company added.
Following this announcement, Glo customers visiting China and UAE will have unhindered access to super-fast 4G LTE and pre-paid roaming, in addition to all postpaid services which had been launched by Globacom many years ago.
China and United Arab Emirates, therefore, join other countries where Glo customers can enjoy its prepaid and postpaid services. The rest include United Kingdom, Finland, Spain, Serbia, Sweden, Norway, Russia, Holland, France, Portugal, Poland, Switzerland, Denmark and other parts of Europe. Others in the American region include Brazil, United States, Bolivia, Cayman and Grenada, Chile, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia and Paraguay.
Afghanistan, Bahrain, Lebanon, Bangladesh, China, Hongkong, India, Indonesia, Macau, Singapore and South Korea. Others are Mongolia, Myanmar, Maldives, Philippines, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan and Vietnam also form the list of countries where Glo postpaid services are also available.
In Africa, Glo postpaid services are available in Cape Verde, Cote d’ Ivoire, Benin Republic, Congo DR, Equatorial Guinea, Egypt, Gabon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Gambia, Mali, Niger Republic and several other destinations on the continent.
It is noteworthy that Glo’s postpaid service is available also in Japan and the Nigerian contingent to the forthcoming Olympic games will benefit extensively from the services. They can communicate, browse and chat with their friends and loved ones without hassles all though the summer games.
