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The Governing Board of the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has approved the development of new zonal offices and a multi level car park at the Agency’s head office using a Design, Build and Finance (DBF) model under a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) in its 2017 budget year.
The approval which was conveyed by the Chairman of the Board, Major General Jonathan India Garba (rtd) after its meeting of October 21, 2016 at the Agency’s head office is for the construction of new office complexes for the Central Zone in Warri, the Eastern Zone in Port Harcourt, Onne Port Office as well as a Multi Level Car Park at the Agency’s head office in Lagos.
The construction of new office complexes for the zones is in line with the restructuring programme of the Agency which plans to devolve more powers to the operational offices to enhance efficiency, productivity and revenue generation.
Currently, the zonal offices are challenged by inadequate office accommodation while there is an urgent need to construct a multi level car park at the Age ncy’s Head Office in Apapa to ease the parking challenges of staff.
Under the DBF model, the Agency will only provide the land for the development, monitor the development to ensure conformity with quality and pay off the cost of construction in three to four years with a markup of 6 – 12% as cost of fund while the developer will provide funding for the entire project, bear the stress of construction and deliver the project within a maximum period of 12 months.
A statement issued by NIMASA’s head, Corporate Communications, Hajia Lami Tumaka explained that in considering the projects for approval, the Board noted the advantage of the DBF model in delivering the projects within one year highlighting the fact that the Agency’s annual budget cannot accommodate these costs in a year.
The Board also evaluated the importance of the restructuring programme to NIMASA’s efficiency, effectiveness and overall productivity in line with the core mandate of the Agency as enshrined in its enabling instruments.
The Board had considered other funding models including long term loans from commercial banks and Joint Venture with Developers under the Public Private Partnership arrangement before settling for the DBF model.
Upon this approval, the Agency will soon commence the process of hiring a Transaction Adviser and other processes leading to the implementation of the Board’s decision.
It will be recalled that upon his appointment the Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside and his Management team had pledged to restructure, reorganize and reposition NIMASA to enhance its efficiency, effectiveness and productivity.
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