By Emma Una
Non dredging of the channel of the Calabar Port, Cross River State, 10 years after it was privatized, is a critical limiting factor for the non-utilization of the full potentials of the port as bigger vessels cannot berth there, Group General Manager of ECM Terminals, Mr. Dayo Balogun, operators of the port, has said.
Mr. Balogun made this disclosure during the presentation of the ISO 9001 certification to the company by ISO agent. He said that the company took over operations at the port after it signed agreement with the Federal Government that the port would be dredged from its present 6 meters to 10.5 meters to allow bigger vessels to berth at the port but this is yet to be done.
“Non-dredging of Calabar Port to its advertised 10.5 meters is the critical limiting factor that is affecting its potential to function optimally and harness all its capabilities 10 years after privatization which is a breach of the agreement the Federal Government signed with ECM Terminals,” he said.