The Federal Government, through the Nigerian Ports Authority has officially handed over the Tincan Island Water System facilities to Sandust Tincan Water Project Limited under a 16-year concession agreement valued at N11 billion.
The NPA announced that the concessionaire will spend the remainder of this year on rebuilding and rehabilitating the facility, with the agreement set to commence on September 1, 2025.
This was disclosed in a statement by the Managing Director of NPA, Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho at the handover ceremony held at the Tincan Island Port Complex on Monday, according to The Punch.
Dantsoho emphasized that the agreement addresses the long-standing issues of neglected water treatment plants at the ports.
Represented by the Assistant General Manager at NPA, Mukhtar Isah,
Dantsoho noted that the prolonged idleness of these facilities had led to substantial revenue losses for both the NPA and the government.
He highlighted that many vessels visiting Nigerian waters require fresh water, underscoring the economic opportunity in revitalizing the water facilities.
“And in most cases, they always call from outside for other parties to bring in water which often times are not enough for them. So the NPA now capitalised on the national policy on a public-private partnership to structure a concession like a sort of management contract that would outsource an operator that would manage and maintain the plant for efficiency,” he stated.
The NPA boss stated that the process went up to the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission and Federal Executive Council which got approval for the concession for 16 years.
“Now there are obligations on the part of the concessionaires and also on the part of the government. The concessionaire has met all its conditions and it was as a result of that that we now approve this date as the effect date of the concession agreement.
“So part of the responsibilities of the concessionaire was to transform the water treatment plant, rehabilitate it maintain it, bring in more equipment, and produce water for sale to vessels which would lead to earning income in dollars,” Dantsoho noted.
He added that the NPA is committed to providing a level playing field for operators, emphasizing that the government stands to earn revenue in dollars from this concession.
“What I mean by a level playing field is that the policies of the government should be friendly to the operators not only in Tincan but also in Apapa Port and that all the things required by the concessionaires that the government through the NPA should be able to provide them,” the NPA boss added.
Dantsoho maintained that when the concession takes full effect a lot of vessels would be coming, “some may even come because of water alone, they will come and go which means the government would earn huge revenue.”
Meanwhile, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Sandust Tincan Water Project Limited, Mrs. Angela Attah confirmed that the 16-year concession agreement is valued at N11 billion.
She added that the company is targeting 100 cubic meters of water per hour.
“The concession is a 16-year agreement between the Nigerian Ports Authority and the Sandust Tincan Water Project Limited the project cost right now is about N11bn and some of the money would come through equity and all that and that is the reason we brought different financing parties here that we are talking with,” Attah.
While acknowledging that the company is in good discussions with the financial bodies, Attah however, said that they are yet to sign an agreement with any of the financial bodies
“We are in a very good discussion with IFC, and Stanbic Infrastructure Fund among others but we haven’t signed anything with any of them yet we are in advanced talks with them and they are here which shows that they have interest
“There is an obligation that NPA has to supply water to all visiting vessels and all port users and at the moment, NPA has not been able to deliver on that obligation because for more than 18 years the plant has not been active,” she said.
