Barring any unforeseen circumstances, a portion of the new capacity being added at the Phase 4B area of the Onne Port Complex development Area in Rivers State will soon be put into commercial operations.

The Managing Director of Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), Ms. Hadiza Bala Usman, during a tour of the facilities, which was designed to handle FPSO integration and other construction and industrial activities, said the Federal Government has deployed millions of dollars to the project, which is about 24 per cent completed.

She said: ”I have inspected Onne 4B and we are thinking of what we need to do within the shortest possible time to ensure that whatever government has invested in the project will be put to commercial use.”

The General Manager of Deep Offshore Services Nigeria Limited, Tonye Apiafi,Concessionaire is investing over $ 2.7 billion in the Phase 4B of the Onne Port Complex,’’

Apiafi said: “the project includes the dredging and reclamation of a total of 600 HA of swamp land, construction of 2000M of Jetty for Berths 12-19 and construction of over 3500M Jetty for port facilities including fabrication & construction yards.

The Phase 4B project includes the construction of “an inner channel and turning basin for vessels, stacking areas, a 6000 cubic meters capacity water distribution system and construction of roads networks in in excess of 15,500 meters,’’

He also said that “a portion of the jetty includes a 50 ton/SHLP (Super Heavy Load Platform) in preparation for fabrication, construction and FPSO integration activities’’, which is available already today.Apiafi said that when completed, the Phase 4B project will also “provide jobs for tens of thousands of Nigerians’’.

The Phase 4B project is a Public Private Partnership Project (PPP) initiative led by the Federal Government that is aimed at upgrading port facilities in the Onne Port Complex and further positioning itself as the foremost integrated logistics centre of world class standard in Nigeria.

The Phase 4B project will effectively double the existing land size of the Onne Port Complex and rollout unprecedented capabilities, including new facilities to support Deep water operations.

Apiafi stated ”these developments are clearly to take on serious industrial engagements in the oil and gas supply chain that will transform the Onne Port Complex into Africa’s first full oil and gas industrial city and one of the strategic assets in the country, which can help the country emerge as a leading oil and gas industrial nation,’’

The Chief Executive Officer of INTELS, Mr. Adrew Dawes, said that the provision of high quality facilities and services in Onne was the result of huge investments running into billions of Dollars over the years.

“We (INTELS and NPA) are partners in the public private sector. Our policy is to invest in concessioned terminals in line with what was issued in concession agreement by NPA and the Ministry of Transport in line with Federal Government strategy on infrastructure development,’’ he said.

On Phase 4 B development, he explained that it is the only facility ready to fully receive a Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) alongside it

Dawes further said that sufficient water depth; turning basin and heavy lift capacity already exist in the jetty for loads up to 50 tonnes.