The director general, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA, Dr. Bashir Jamoh, has assured that the modular floating dock project based public, private partnership (PPP) arrangement is on course.
He stated this recently at an interaction with journalists in his office in Lagos.
He said work on the project had been going on from the time he took over as the managing director.
“From the day that I took over till now, the floating dock has been on course. The floating dock has been built, and there must be an installation… So after the floating dock was built and brought here, there ought to be an installation. That installation part will soon be done.
“So, it’s not that we are sleeping or not doing anything for while you think we are holding on, we are actually doing so many things, simultaneously,” he said.
Jamoh explained that unlike a car, the dock cannot be purchased at mart.
“A car is that which you can enter a showroom, pay the money, take the key, start the car, drive the car and go your way, to anywhere…but the operating ship is not like that for there are processes and procedures.
“It is just like an air conditioner; if you procure an AC, you have to install the AC too.
“First, you get the space for installation, then the pipe, the cable, the electricity, and finally the socket.
“If there is no socket, there is no way the AC will work. So also, if there is no power supply, the AC won’t work.
“So, if you go to the floating dock, there are cranes, and if the cranes are not working, you cannot work the floating dock; so also, without the engine and the generators, it won’t equally work,” he said.
He said the agency had invited a maritime solutions company and manufacturer of the floating dock, Damen Group as part of efforts to ensure a successful installation, preparatory to functional operations.
Meanwhile, he said the agency would have to bring in some equipment from the Netherlands, on a temporary basis.
He also said NIMASA was scouting around for a technically-sound partner to bring ships to the dock.
“We have decided to put up a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement. We would get an emerging partner who has the experience, and the technical know-how, to bring customers; because it is one thing to have a floating dock, it is another to enjoy the confidence of the people who are to bring their ships.
“If you are not comfortable with a mechanic, you can’t carry your car to the mechanic.
“So what we have is a floating dock that can repair ships.
But, we also know that If you don’t have the integrity and technical know-how, and the operators know, then, nobody will carry his ship there,” he added.
To satisfy the procurement requirement, he said NIMASA had gone to the Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission (ICRC which, according to him, did a comprehensive scrutiny, examined workability of the project, particularly to know if it is bankable and profitable and thereafter gave its approval
