The Nigerian Shippers’ Council has appealed to the Abia State Government to support the revival of the long-abandoned Isiala Ngwa inland dry port, saying the facility could transform the state into a regional trade hub under the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement. Executive Secretary Akutah Ukeyima made the call during a visit to Governor Alex Otti in Nvosi, Isiala Ngwa South.
Ukeyima said the project, gazetted in 2006 and concessioned to Eastgate Container Terminal, remains at just 10 percent completion due to funding and infrastructure challenges. He noted that operationalising the port would boost small businesses in Aba, create thousands of jobs, and improve internally generated revenue in the state.
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The council said the port aligns with the AfCFTA’s aim of creating a single African market and could serve as a key logistics hub for regional trade, including transit goods to landlocked countries like Chad and Niger.
Responding, Governor Otti blamed a lack of rail infrastructure for the delay and called on the federal government to prioritise the project. He expressed concern that Abia was assigned a narrow-gauge railway unlike other regions with standard gauge, and warned that another decade could pass without progress if key transport issues remain unresolved.
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