The Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has said that his Ministry will partner with the Ministry of Solid Mineral in order to grow the steel and aluminium sector which he said is key to the development of the shipping industry.
The Minister who disclosed this at the Nigeria Ship Finance Conference and Exhibition (NISFCOE) held in Lagos on Monday also said that the Ministry was determined to support the stakeholders take the nation’s shipping industry to the next level.
Represented by the Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside, Amaechi pointed out that if need be, the Ministry will partner the Nigerian Export and Import (NEXIM) Bank to grow tonnage as well as to grow the industry.
According to him,” I want to say to you that the Federal Ministry of Transportation is determined to support our stakeholders take our shipping industry to the next level. We are going to work with other Ministries particularly the Ministry of Steels and Mines to grow one component that is important if we must develop shipping industry, the steel and aluminium sector.
“We are already working with stakeholders to explore different options to finance shipping development and the industry. We are concerned about the underdevelopment of ship construction in our country. Several firms are thriving but we recognize the fact that they need support and we are working towards to giving them the needed support.
“It is in acknowledgement of the role shipping industry development can play in our country that we are committed to refloating the national fleet. To that end, we are already with a group of Nigerian investors and a Singaporean shipping company to refloat the national fleet with Nigerians owing 60% equity of the proposed National Shipping Line”.
He pledged the Ministry’s preparedness to work with stakeholders in Nigeria and other government institutions to provide the necessary guarantee that indigenous ship owners may need to invest in the industry.
“We are already discussing at the highest level of government to provide some support to indigenous players in the industry to enable them take equity stake in the proposed National Shipping Line. I want to use this medium to invite all of you who are our stakeholders to please come forward and participate in the proposed National Shipping Line so that it will truly belong to Nigerians and not to the Nigerian government.
“Our vision is that the proposed National Shipping Line will belong to Nigerians and not to Nigerian government. It is the only way it can be sustainable. When it belongs to the government, it belongs to nobody but she it belongs to Nigerians, it belongs to all of us then we can be sure that it will not go under.
“We also have taken note that the South Korean model of Shipping development is more sustainable because the South Korean EXIM Bank was given some form of financing by government and it becomes a major participator of the development of ship building industry in Korea. We are going to look at that model among other models, if it is necessary that we partner the Nigerian Export and Import bank to grow tonnage , to grow the industry, we will do it”, he said.
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