Integrated Logistics Nigeria Limted INTELS, the concessionaire in charge of the Onne Ports Complex, Onne Rivers State, which also incorporates the Oil and Gas Free Zone has said that it paid a total of N56.3 billion ($184.6 million) to the Federal Government in the last 10 years.
This money, which covers the period between 2006 and 2016, was concession fees and other related charges paid through the Nigerian Ports Authority and the Bureau of Public Enterprise.
In a report made available to newsmen in Lagos, the company said the fees comprise commencement fee of $10.3 million, lease fee of $68.4 million; throughput fee of $35.7 million and land industrial area fee of $79 million.
The report also disclosed that prior to the concession exercise, INTELS tailored its services and facilities as well as operations to support activities in the oil and gas industry.
“The highly technical facilities required to support oil and gas related operations also require special equipment and highly skilled manpower to manage such operations, which, therefore, leads to higher level of investments by INTELS relative to other competitors”, the company said.
Investigations however show that the logistics and equipment infrastructural needs of the terminals concessioned to INTELS require much higher investments and specialised skills in contrast to other terminals.
This development had consequently given rise to a projected higher yields in terms of returns to the concessionaire as well as to the Federal Government.
INTElS also said that these projections therefore informed the basis for fixing a higher throughput fee per tonn for these terminals to be paid by concessionaires of terminals located in those ports controlled by the company at that time of concession, while other terminals pay a much lower figure per tonn under their concession agreements.
The report also said: “It has therefore, always been clear that certain ports on account of their specific character and locations were to be dedicated and designated for oil and gas cargo handling while others were not”.
It therefore insisted that INTELS was committed to developing the Badagry Port and Free Zone, which is in excess of 5,00 metres of quay wall and 603 hectares port area.
When completed, the new Free Zone would consist of container terminals, refined products terminals, oil services centre, general purpose terminals and Roll- On- Roll- Off RORO terminals.
It was further gathered that the Badagry port also has provisions for 322 hectares of industrial area, 162 hectares of dedicated logistics park, 26 hectares of expatriate housing compound and free trade zone status, which will be a replication of the Onne Oil and Gas Free Zone.
There were apprensions among port stakeholders over the fate of the Badagry Deep Seaport project.
These apprensions were sequel to reports by the NPA that the Federal Government has placed embargo on granting new licences for the establishment of new seaports pending the completion of the new 25-year port masterplan.