Cross River will fund Bakassi deep seaport without loan, says Gov Otu

Gov. Bassey Otu of Cross River says the Bakassi Deep Seaport project will be funded without the state taking any loan facility.

Otu said that the project, a flagship of his administration, though not conceptualised by his government, would change the economic landscape of the state and that of the country at large.

The governor disclosed this at a media parley with selected journalists in Calabar on Tuesday.

He explained that the Bakassi Deep Seaport project was purely investor-driven and estimated to cost about $3.5 billion.

He added that all that was required of the state was to carry out all the preliminary works needed for the actual construction work to commence.

According to him, the Seaport project will change the economic fortune of the state; it will be the best, and the groundbreaking ceremony will come soon.

“The government is not borrowing any money to fund this project; the fund will be provided by the investor through AFREXIMBANK.

“As we speak, work is going on there on a daily basis. Basically, what is being done now is the hydrographic, geophysical, and geotechnical survey for the proposed Deep Seaport Integrated Project.

“The survey is essential to ensuring the port’s structural integrity and functionality, as it will generate data crucial to the project’s design and execution.”

Otu noted that his administration was in a hurry to transform the state, adding that every sector of the state’s economy would be attended to under his watch.

He also revealed that his administration had embarked on the reconstruction of 100 primary health care centers across the state as part of efforts to take care of the health needs of rural communities.

“The same is also going on in the education sector, where we will be launching students’ scholarships in a fortnight,” he added.