Akwa Ibom Deep Seaport: The Making Of An African Dubai

<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em>Akwa Ibom Deep Seaport&comma; an initiative of governor Udom Emmanuel’s administration with concurrent approval from federal government&comma; is the final statement that Akwa Ibom is becoming Africa’s foremost investment destination&period; In this piece&comma; made available to <strong><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;openlife&period;ng&sol;">OpenLife Nigeria&comma;<&sol;a><&sol;strong> Reverend Richard Peters offers insights into the working mechanism of Udomi Emmanuel<&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Akwa Ibom State under the Udom Emmanuel’s administration is gradually becoming a destination for investors and entrepreneurs owing to the huge development in agro sector&comma; establishment of industries&comma; economic&comma; business-friendly policies of the government and good road network&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>And as a show of support and solidarity to the result-oriented administration of Governor Emmanuel&comma; the Federal Government recently gave approval to the business case of Ibom Deep <strong>Seaport<&sol;strong> project&comma; which has received much attention from this present administration&period; This approval is coming on the heels of the vigorous push by the Udom Emmanuel led administration for the actualization of this long awaited vision&period; It will be recalled that previous administrations since 1999 have made several attempts at kick starting the seaport&comma; without success&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The huge attention given to the project by the present administration is necessitated by the myriad of benefits the project will bring to the state and Nigeria in general&comma; on Completion&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The Ibom deep seaport has been described by the Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Economic Development&comma; Akan Okon as a project that will be of immense value to Nigeria&comma; in terms of employment generation&comma; increase in port capacity&comma; and also improve efficiency in shipping business&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>He explained that the deep seaport&comma; which is designed for very large vessels that can load over 13&comma;000 containers in one voyage&comma; will also serve as a trans-shipment port as smaller vessels will be used to lighter cargoes from the mega vessels to seaports&comma; and river ports closer to the consignee’s within and outside <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;openlife&period;ng&sol;">Nigeria&period;<&sol;a><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Akwa Ibom State is becoming the Dubai of Nigeria&comma; and has seen tremendous increase in population as a result of the safety and government-investor friendly disposition enjoyed in the state&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>From a small fishing village&comma; Dubai has become the heartbeat of business&period; Today&comma; Dubai is a city of skyscrapers&comma; ports&comma; and beaches&comma; where big business takes place alongside sun-seeking tourism&period; Because of its large expatriate population&comma; it feels like a Middle Eastern melting pot&comma; and the atmosphere is generally tolerant&comma; noted a public affairs commentator&comma; Eric George&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The same can be said of America&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;The modern American economy traces its roots to the quest of European settlers for economic gain in the 16th&comma; 17th&comma; and 18th centuries&period; The New World then progressed from a marginally successful colonial economy to a small&comma; independent farming economy and&comma; eventually&comma; to a highly complex industrial economy&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>This is what Akwa Ibom State under Governor Emmanuel is evolving into&period; The industrial revolution he has brought to the state&comma; and in most cases through the relationship he built during his years in the banking sector is what is strategically positioning and expanding our economy&comma; on the same path that <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;openlife&period;ng&sol;">Dubai and the US<&sol;a> started their journey from&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>One may mock this assertion when a comparison between what is happening now in the US and Dubai&comma; and what we have today in Akwa Ibom is made&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;We may not have been there now&comma; but truly&comma; we are on our shortest route to greater economic glories&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Rome was not built in a day&period; Today&&num;8217&semi;s Dubai is not a year&&num;8217&semi;s plan&period; Infact&comma; it was a 20- year plan&comma; and it took more than 20 years for them to get to where they are today&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Governor Emmanuel has already positioned Akwa Ibom on a good standpoint through the Akwa Ibom Deep Seaport&comma; and by 2050&comma; history will speak loud of this noble economic foundation led by Gov&period; Emmanuel&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>There&&num;8217&semi;s no greater glory that a leader would leave behind&comma; than to leave a generational legacy of self independence&comma; economic renaissance&comma; entrepreneural development and mental reorientation&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>With the huge backing of the Federal Government towards the actualization of the Ibom Deep Seaport&comma; Governor Udom Emmanuel will soon layout a full scale implementation plan for both the Deep sea port and the Liberty Oil and Gas free <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;openlife&period;ng&sol;">Zone&comma;<&sol;a> also recently approved for commencement&comma; observed the Information and Strategy Commissioner&comma; Ini Ememobong&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Indeed&comma; these are best times to live as Akwa Ibomites&period; In our time&comma; an economic roadmap for the Akwa Ibom of our dream is laid&comma; through the able hand of our dear visionary leader&comma; Governor Udom Emmanuel&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;