Akwa Ibom State Governor, Mr Udom Emmanuel has assured Akwa Ibom people that the Ibom Deep Seaport project when operational will transform the State into a transhipment city that will provide thousands of direct jobs to citizens.
Briefing newsmen at the Victor Attah International Airport shortly after his arrival from an official visit to South Korea on Friday, Mr Akan Okon noted with delight that the Akwa Ibom State Government’s presentation on Ibom Deep Seaport and Ibom Industrial City to the Management of Busan Port Authority (BPA), at the Maritime Sector and Harbor Development programme in South Korea, has yielded positive results of which its impact will soon transform the political economy of Akwa Ibom State.
According to Mr Okon, BPA is a state-owned company under the Korean Ministry of Ocean and Fisheries lunched in January 2004 for the development, operation and management of Busan Port which is the Gate way of North East Asia, and a major transhipment route to China, Japan and Russia.
“This trip also gave us the opportunity to interact with the Korean Maritime and Ocean University with a view to developing manpower for our citizens so that we would be able to take advantage of the opportunities that would be created in the maritime sector as a result of this project and we are looking at areas like maritime logistics and other businesses that is associated with the shipping industry”, he stated.
Mr Okon stated that with the kind of vision Governor Udom Emmanuel has for Ibom Deep Seaport which is to make Akwa Ibom a transhipment port for the African continent, Akwa Ibom is in for an industrial revolution that will propel the state and her citizens to greatness, global competitiveness and economic prosperity.
“We also had the opportunity to meet with the Korean Cooperation for Overseas Port Development. We are looking at having a partnership with them so that they can also assist in the development of our Deep Seaport. Basan Port is developing three port presently in Netherlands, Indonesia and Spain so we met with them so that they can key into Ibom Deep Seaport and they are quite interested”.
“The collaboration between the Akwa Ibom State Government and Basan Port Authority which is the main investor is moving ahead and by next week we are going to kickstart the geophysical and geotechnical studies. Once Ibom Deep Seaport becomes operational, it will change the life of Akwa Ibom people for good”, he declared.
Source: vanguard
