The Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Chief Godswill Akpabio, has restated his commitment to the actualisation of the Ibaka Deep Seaport project and expressed the hope that a substantial part of the project would be completed before he leaves office.

Chief Akpabio dropped the hint when the Managing Director of China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC), Mr Shi Hong Bing led the management team of the firm to present an architectural design of the project to the Governor in Abuja.

The governor said he was elated about the Chinese firm’s interest in the maritime industry in Nigeria because, according to him, the Ibaka Deep Seaport represented the future of the maritime industry in Nigeria.

According to Chief Akpabio, “I see a future for Ibaka in the Gulf of Guinea. It will help to decongest existing ports in Nigeria and also make Nigeria attractive destination for shippers. It will become a major trans-shipment destination because of the depth of the water.

“It will also be of advantage to countries bordering Nigeria along the coastline. Akwa Ibom State has the largest and longest coastline in the country and we are glad that your company is interested in making use of these numerous advantages.”

The governor acknowledged the reception the Chinese government and CCECC gave to President Goodluck Jonathan during his recent visit to China and said he was delighted by the cooperation between the two countries.

Speaking, Mr. Bing thanked Chief Akpabio for the patronage and confidence he reposed in the company and promised continued commitment to standards in all its projects in the state.

He disclosed that the Speaker of the Chinese parliament would visit Nigeria from September 18 to 20 and said he looked forward to using the visit as a platform for signing a memorandum of understanding on the project to facilitate the sourcing of finance from financial institutions.

“The first phase of the project is estimated to cost about $3 billion so we need more investors to partner CCECC and Akwa Ibom State government to make the project a reality,” Bing. said.

•Photo: Akpabio (left) receiving the architectural design of the Ibaka Deep Seaport Project from Bing.