The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola, has promised to open up the sector to private investments and public-private partnerships.
Mr Oyetola made the promise at the dinner session of the ongoing 29th Nigeria Economic Summit in Abuja on Monday.
The event was put together by the Nigeria Economic Summit Group, NESG, with a theme: ‘Sailing to Success: Harnessing Nigeria’s Maritime Potential’.
The session was meant to chart a new course that leverages the sector’s potential for sustainable economic growth, competitiveness, and private sector engagement.
While expressing the transformation of the sector, as telecoms and power, the former Osun State said enabling private sector investments is key to unlocking Nigeria’s economic potential in the Marine and Blue Economy sector.
He also expressed the government’s readiness to enhance efficiency at the ports and facilitate the establishment of private sector-led Maritime Development Zones for the co-location of ancillary services such as “wreck removal, wreck recycling, ship building, ship repairs, etc.
“It is imperative that we move quickly towards improving the navigability of our waters, increase the draughts of our ports, achieve 24 to 48-hour cargo clearance, and ensure adequate connectivity of our ports to the hinterland, with efficient road and rail networks.
“Our goal is to build a thriving maritime and blue economy sector that makes a substantial contribution to Nigeria’s GDP.
“We are working to streamline the number of government agencies operating at the ports through the full implementation of the National Single Window initiative.
“We are also automating port operations through the deployment of a Port Community System and phasing out manual cargo inspections,” Mr Oyetola said.
