“Port Ondo  ‘ll bring industrial revolution”

By Oyeyemi Victoria, Quadri Mariam, Ujal Sunday
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The proposed Port of Ondo  will lead to industrial revolution  when operational, it has been declared.

A member of the House of Representatives representing Ilaje/Ese-Odo Federal Constituency, Mr Kolade Akinjo made this observation in an interview with The Hope during the submission of a feasibility report on the  port .

Akinjo also affirmed that the port has the capacity of boosting the economy of the state, looking at the various investment potentials it would attract to the state.

 He said Ondo state government has taken the right step in the right direction, commending also  the Ondo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (OSOPADEC), which powers the dream.

Speaking on the development, the chairman of OSOPADEC, Mr Olugbenga Edema noted that the project will provide employment opportunity for the teeming unemployed youths in the  state and will boost the economy of not only Ilaje but the state in general.

Edema, applauded Governor Oluwatotimi Akeredolu (SAN) for fulfilling his electorial promises to develop the coastal lines in the southern senatorial district.

The Olugbo of Ugbo, Oba Fredrick Akinruntan also commended Akeredolu for taken the giant step to develop the deep sea port,  saying it was capital intensive.

Akinruntan applauded government for it’s magnanimity by giving the host communities a sense of belonging through a sharing formula.

The team leader of Maritime and Transport Business Solutions, Mr. Wllem Slendebroek said the first phase of the project has been delivered.

Slendebroek observed the need to search for investors from both national and international arena for the  construction work.

He described the project as a big one which is not for the state alone, but Nigeria as a whole.

He observed that the coast of the state was difficult to develop alone, which brought about the concept to develop the Island in front of the coast.

The state, he said can compare with other ports around the country and be the first one to offer deep sea feasibility facilities.

The Supervisor on site from Humber Marine Werk Limited, a partnering organisation on the project, said the port is waiting to get declaration from the Nigeria Ports Autority (NPA), to commence activities.

According to him, every necessary things like the land survey site, inland and off surveys have been concluded and report handed over to the governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu.

He commended the state governor for employing technically sounded people in respect of the project.

 He opined that the state is making the best breath which has been a challenge resulting in the nation’s backwardness.