Ibaka Is An African Economic Miracle


The 14,000 hectares Ibom Industrial City, with key components of the master plan having export processing zones, gas processing zones, industrial and commercial ports, residential areas and commercial zones will greatly change the modern world’s perspective on African investments. With support services such as dockyard, watercraft repair facilities, fertilizer plant, oil refinery as well as gas to liquid project, the Industrial City promises to be a major African economic transformation sensation, it is indeed bound to be revolutionary to the Nigerian economy and will definitely make fantastic returns to the Federal Government, while at the same time stamping Nigeria as a global gateway and a major source for not only hydrocarbons but other consumer products with the free trade zone status of the city.

Beside the beautiful ambience of an economically viable state, occasioned with state-of-the-art infrastructures; cutting-edge services; and a dynamic, productive, and prosperous people, the Akwa Ibom State Government raised the game by delivering on major projects of Ibom International Airport for graceful movement of persons and cargoes, Ibom Power Plant for uninterrupted power supply from 191MW power plants, and Ibom Tropicana Entertainment Complex to build on tourism. With these major transformation of the state a great momentum has built up and laser sharp focus is now on Ibom Industrial City with the Federal Government buy-in to build a deep-sea port at Ibaka. There is currently no alternative to a deep-sea port to handle larger ships if Nigeria must evolve a leading maritime economy in Africa. Currently, Nigeria is conspicuously absent on the list of Panamax compliant ports, while giving the game away in favour of Benin, Cameroon, Togo, and even
Ghana.

Nigeria’s deep-sea port at Ibaka with a draft depth, without dredging, of 13m against 9.5m of Lagos port, offers hope for exceeding Panamax port specification for lock chambers of 320.04m long, 33.53m wide, and 12.56m deep and to roundly handle post Panamax ships such as super-tankers, modern container ships, large oil tankers, and even aircraft carriers. Deep-sea port development at Ibaka will connect Nigeria to the world through modern container ships for graceful export and import of products, cruise ships to establish Nigeria as a major tourist destination, oil tankers to economically evacuate hydrocarbon deposits off the Gulf of Guinea.

Nigeria, therefore, cannot claim superior service-oriented economy to that of her neighbours if it cannot put its acts together and build a deep-sea port as no modern economy thrives without a deep-sea port to fall back on. Nigeria having a major product on the global supply chain, stands a chance of developing, adding, or deriving more products on the supply chain if the maritime component of the supply chain is well developed within her territory. The economic reality of Ibom Industrial City and Nigeria’s deep-sea port at Ibaka will immediately develop service industries and handles with attendant local content capabilities for physical infrastructures, productive sectors, knowledge based economy, governance and general administration, as well as regional and political zones development.
With road shows to Australia, Singapore, London, Dubai, USA, China and India, among others to sensitise the global community, in the face of economic crisis in the developed world we will experience a rush of alternative Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to Nigeria for a project that will outlive crude oil, promote economic and political stability, generate employment in hundreds of thousands, boost export and import, and massively increase Nigeria’s cargo handling capacity. In fact, the state-of-the-art industrial city at Ibaka has become the tonic Nigeria needs to catalyse the Vision 20:2020 into reality while other strategies drift into oblivion.

A project of this magnitude with the scale, volume, challenges, and engineering processes demand cooperation of states within the region, the Federal Government, and even the Government and people of Cameroon, Congo, Angola, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea. In the end the development dynamics to be instituted at Ibaka will be of immense benefit to all.

Final Summation

Development of Bakassi by Cameroon and Ibaka by Nigeria will cascade rapid economic improvements into the Gulf of Guinea and progressively wipe out illicit trade in contrabands, human trafficking, sea piracy, and militancy. If developed as planned, Mbo hosting Ibaka as Nigeria’s only deep-sea port will mutually benefit both Nigeria and Cameroon which development could be foreclosed with Nigeria’s interest and contention to title in Bakassi. Therefore, the opportunity cost to Nigeria of a non-constructive hold on to Bakassi is the favourable development of Nigeria’s only natural deep-sea port overlooking Bakassi at Ibaka.

Development of Ibaka deep-sea port with the industrial components as envisaged by the State Government and the Federal Government will definitely offer ripple economic benefits to Cameroon, Congo, Angola, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea. These development will bring these countries into closer ties with Nigeria, and totally transform the economies of south-south and south-east Nigeria. It will rapidly improve and modernise education and healthcare in the region and attract enormous FDI. The result of the successful development of Ibaka is that it will bring several parts of the world into this corner of Nigeria in an economic consolidation never imagined in the history of Africa.

In all, implementation of projects that bring people along the common Cameroon-Nigeria boundary will further bring the people together. Ultimately, the border will be turned into a bridge between Nigeria and Cameroon rather than a gap. Choosing arbitration rather than war has made Nigeria a stronger nation, and her people a more respected and preferred class.



http://www.afdb.org/en/news-and-events/multimedia/video/socio-economic-impact-of-enugu-bamenda-highway-nigeria-cameroon-712/

http://dateandtime.info/drivingdirections.php?id1=2343279&id2=2234974

http://forums.naij.com/showthread.php?t=14073157

http://blog.aksgonline.com/?p=88s



Nigeria needs to strengthen economic ties with neighboring countries such as Cameroon,Gabon,and Equitorial Guinea which lie to the east of nigeria just as she has done with nations like Ghana ,Benin and Togo which lie to the west of Nigeria.

What's the current state of work @ Ibaka deep sea port now? Have CCECC started construction?

Ozonna: What's the current state of work @ Ibaka deep sea port now? Have CCECC started construction?

Yeah, good question.

Can't wait to key into the benefits of this project. As a citizen of ss/se joint politico- economic zone, its time we begin to look back to ss/se for investment viability and sustainability.

Kponkwem: Can't wait to key into the benefits of this project. As a citizen of ss/se joint politico- economic zone, its time we begin to look back to ss/se for investment viability and sustainability.

There is nothing like ss/se joint. We have 1 East

Pdp propagandist,there is nothing on ground.liar

No pix on NL means, 'it didn't happen'

Watch out for attacks on the akwa ibom state governor on these forum in the near future by those who will obviously be annoyed by this news

DaLover: Watch out for attacks on the akwa ibom state governor on these forum in the near future by those who will obviously be annoyed by this news

^^^Look above you.....their forerunners have preceded their coming!

Fantasy things. Well, it's good to fantasize sometimes.
It helps to keep the mind healthy.

i need to go open shop for dat way sharply.
investors needed

lygn19:
There is nothing like ss/se joint. We have 1 East

Gov. Akpabio has attended several joint se/ss meeting in Enugu recently. Yes we have one east and akwa ibom is east. East does nt mean Igbo

....

Can anyone give us up to date details on when the Ibaka port is to be completed and how serious the FG is taking the project now?

plz,sumbody shud update us wit d level of wrk going on in d seaport to knw if d fgis rili serious wit d project..i heard dt d seaport wil start operation by 2015

OP. Come back and do the needful