Government to roll out maritime blueprint By Adaku Onyenucheya

THE Executive Secretar y of the Nigerian Shippers' Council ( NSC), Pius Akutah, has disclosed that t he Ministr y of Marine and Blue Economy is set to roll out a blueprint that would address the challenges facing the maritime industry to enable the government to achieve the $ 1trillion economic growth.

Akutah, who stated this yesterday during a tour of the terminal facilities at the Lagos seaports, said President Bola Tinubu has mandated the ministr y to work with the private players to address the hindrances to port efficiency , which has affected the ease of doing business. He said the policy document would capture all infrastructure deficits, port facility decay, tariffs, and automation of the systems to achieve port efficiency.

"The President and his ‘ Renewed Hope Agenda’ for this country is looking at moving from half a trillion dollars to a trilliondollar economy by the end of his four years and the Marine and Blue Economy

Ministry is one of the pivotal ministries that will drive this economy to that extent. What the president is trying to do is to rebuild the entire sector from the marine aspect and then bring the blue economy into it.

"This is a heavy investment. So, we are not just looking at the government investing in the entire sector alone, but we are also looking at collaborating with the private sector. We provide the enabling environment for the private sector to invest heavily in the sector to achieve the dream of the President," he said.

On the immediate plan to address the challenges, Akutah said the ministry would collaborate with the private sector to help restructure the entire maritime industry, adding that the efficiency of the port system cannot be achieved overnight.

"By the time we implement the policies, they will yield the needed results and this administration is targeting the marine and blue economy to significantly add to the national gross domestic product," he stated.