The House of Representatives Committee on Rehabilitation and Operationalisation of Baro Inland Port Sunday expressed concerns over the deplorable state of access roads to the multi-billion-naira facility, describing it as the single biggest obstacle to the port’s functionality.
The committee, which was on an oversight visit to the Niger state-based facility, said despite the enormous potential of the Baro Inland Port to boost trade, create jobs, and open up the economy, the absence of motorable roads has left the project largely idle years after its commissioning.
Chairman of the committee, Hon. Saidu Abdullahi, lamented that a trip that should ordinarily take half an hour now stretches into four grueling hours because of the failed portions of the road, adding that unless urgent attention is given to road infrastructure, other efforts to revive the port would amount to a waste.
“The state of the roads is a major hindrance to the full operationalisation of the Baro Inland Port. What should be a 30-minute journey now takes over four hours. This is unacceptable for a facility of this magnitude, which is supposed to serve as a hub for trade and industrial growth,” he said.
He said without good roads, cargo cannot be evacuated from the port, nor can surrounding communities benefit from its presence.
Managing director of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), represented by the General Manager of Business Development, Mr. Bolawale Adetola, said the port, commissioned in 2019, has remained underutilised since then.
“Everything that a port needs to work is on ground. The key challenges are the access road and the silted channel. Once these are fixed, Baro Port will be of immense benefit to Nigerians,” he said.
Meanwhile, prominent traditional rulers in Niger state, including the Etsu Nupe, Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar, and the Emir of Agaie, Alhaji Yusuf Nuhu, appealed to the federal government to revive the port, when they received members of the committee.