Edo partners Port of Antwerp to finalise Benin River Port

• As Obaseki seeks global push to tackle learning poverty
Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, members of Benin River Port (BRP) Project Committee, has concluded plans with the Port of Antwerp from Belgium to partner on the Benin River Port project. 

This was gathered at a meeting of BRP Project Committee with the governor and representatives of the Port of Antwerp.

While the Chairman of BRP Project Committee, Mr. Greg Ogbeifun, led his team, the Manager of Ports Project, Port of Antwerp International, Mr. Phillippee Droesbeke, led its contingents to the meeting.

The Special Assistant on Media Projects to Edo State Government, Crusoe Osagie, in a statement, explained that Benin River Port is among legacy projects by the Obaseki administration to drive industrial and economic growth in Edo. The port, upon completion, will boost export earnings, create employment opportunities, expand the economic value chain and open up new business opportunities in the state.

Speaking on the partnership, Obaseki said the arrangement would see the Benin Port become both a cargo handling port and an industrial complex to facilitate industrial production.

He said: “We are glad to be partnering with Port of Antwerp from Belgium to finalise the Benin River Port Project, a key project in our pursuit to drive industrialisation and economic growth in Edo State.”

On his part, Droesbeke said the Port of Antwerp is delighted to be partnering with Edo State government on the project, considering its huge economic benefits to Edo, Nigeria, and Belgium.

MEANWHILE, Obaseki has called for increased global advocacy to address learning poverty in developing countries, noting that such a move would accelerate development and prevent inequalities that impede growth.

The governor said this in commemoration of International Day of Education marked by the United Nations and its sister agencies.

Obaseki, who noted that the impact of the state’s Edo State Basic Education Sector Transformation (EdoBEST) programme is changing the future prospects of youths, added that tackling learning poverty must be a necessary imperative for global leaders.

He said: “As we celebrate International Day of Education, it is important to highlight the importance of education in changing the fortune of nations, building empires and driving generational wealth. Education does not only liberate the mind; it creates a new world of opportunities. This is what we have re-enacted in Edo with our reforms through EdoBEST programme.”

In his message to mark the day, the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, said: “Let’s deliver education systems that can support equal societies, dynamic economies and limitless dreams of every learner in the world.”