The Nigerian Shippers Council announced on Sunday that talks between the federal government and China Railway Construction Corporation Limited for the construction of the Ibadan Inland Dry Port are nearing completion.
CRCC is the preferred bidder for the proposed dry port to be established in the state capital.
Describing it as a major milestone, NSC guaranteed a discount for the proposed 80,000 to twenty feet unit capacity dry port based on a public-private partnership agreement.
The facility will help solve the problem of port congestion and gridlock in Epo, Lagos, NSC Abuja Public Relations Head Rakia Zubair said in a statement.
The council said the Ibadan facility would be designated as a destination port where goods would be consolidated for import and export, especially in the southwestern part of Nigeria.
"Among other uses, Dry Port offers competitive cargo sorting center, bulk braking as well as cargo-tracking and truck management services," Zubair said.
The council said, "The project is estimated at 94 million m (N43.24bn), which will increase employment in Oyo State and other cities."
The Lagos-Cano standard gauge railway currently under construction is connected to the proposed dry port, which will facilitate the transportation of cargo from the port in Lagos and to all destinations along the route.
The NSC said the talks emphasized the development of the facility and the use of local materials at each stage of the operation.
It states, "Upon completion of this phase, an updated full business case compliance report will be produced. The draft agreement will be submitted to the Federal Ministry of Justice and sent to the Infrastructure Subsidy Regulatory Commission for further waiting."
"After that, the Minister of Transportation will submit the contract to the Federal Executive Council. The bidder will then be taken to the site for a soda-diversion. Construction is expected to begin as soon as the ceremony is over. The completion period is 12 months."
The council said the talks were chaired by Avlu Suleiman, executive secretary, and director of the Federal Ministry of Transport, Marine Services.
Other people involved in the talks included the Director-General, ICRC, Chidi Izua, and Federal Finance Ministry spokesman Jummai Katagam.
The four-day talks were attended by Oyo State Secretary Olubamivo Adosun and chaired by CRCC Deputy Managing Director Jacques Liao.
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