African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and Nigeria Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) have announced a $750,000 grant to support the charting of the main channel of the Niger-Benue river, as part of the Regional Sealink Project, which aims to bridge the gap in maritime transport infrastructure and improve trade connectivity in West Africa.
Afreximbank provided a grant of $350,000 to supplement the $450,000 made available by NEXIM, thus completing the financing of the barthymetric survey and hydrograhic and hydrological studies of the lower Niger-Benue river.
The studies will be undertaken under a joint collaboration framework between the Nigerian Navy Hydrography Department, Nigeria’s National Inland waterways Authority (NIWA) and Sealink Consortium Partners.
Inland waterways are a key transport mode that plays a vital role in facilitating the efficient and cost-effective movement of goods and providing a competitive alternative to rail and road transport, while ensuring integration into the country’s international logistics chain.
President of Afreximbank, Prof. Benedict Oramah, said: “The project, which will facilitate regional transit, is timely given the recent commencement of trading under the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). The grant from Afreximbank and NEXIM will allow for the development of infrastructure that will eventually relieve road congestion and enable some bulky commodities and solid minerals to move by the river.”
Managing Director of NEXIM, Mr. Abubakar Abba Bello, said: “The execution of the Grant Agreement strongly aligns with the strategic objectives of Afreximbank and NEXIM in trade promotion and support for the development of trade facilitating and enabling infrastructure that will deepen the partnership engagements of both institutions to foster trade connectivity, especially under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).”
