The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, has officially taken control of the designated areas at the Continental Shipyard, which were previously leased to it by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA). These areas are vital for the operations of the Modular Floating Dock.
The transferred areas encompass various essential facilities, including the dolphin jetty, the adjacent waterfront of the jetty, a prominent administrative block, as well as a construction, welding, and mechanical workshop, along with a civil maintenance workshop, among other spaces.
In a significant handover ceremony, the Director General of NIMASA, Bashir Jamoh stated that this event signifies the concluding phase of the Agency’s endeavor to establish and deploy the Modular Floating Dockyard. Although Dr. Jamoh was unable to attend the ceremony in person, he was well represented by Mr. Kabiru Diso, the Head of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Unit.
During the handover, Mr. Diso reassured all stakeholders that the deployment of the Modular Floating Dockyard is now imminent, as all outstanding matters and uncertainties between NIMASA and the NPA have been resolved.
“The Modular Floating Dockyard is a national asset and now that all grey areas between the NPA and NIMASA have been addressed, we are very close to the deployment of the Modular Floating Dock.
Our goal is to domicile dry-docking of vessels in the country thus saving the nation foreign exchange currently expended on dry-docking vessels outside the shores of Nigeria. The floating Dock will also provide both direct and indirect employment to Nigerians with a multiplier effect on capacity development.” He said.
The Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission, ICRC, granted a certificate of compliance to the Outline Business Case (OBC) for the operation of a Modular Floating Dock.
The ICRC praised the project as both bankable and sustainable. The dock is designed to handle vessels weighing up to 10,000 Metric Tons and will be operated through a Public Private Partnership agreement.