The Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, has secured a loan of $700million from Citibank backed by the United Kingdom Export Finance, UKEF,   an export credit agency, to rehabilitate the Apapa and Tin-Can Island ports, Lagos.

The NPA has also opened a discussion with another funding agency to secure financing for upgrading of the Eastern Ports including Calabar, Warri,   Onne and Rivers Ports as well as the reconstruction of Escravos breakwater facility.

Speaking in Lagos on Wednesday during the signing of mandate letter with Citibank Nigeria, Managing Director of the NPA, Mohammed Bello-Koko, said the letter will be sent to Debt Management Office, DMO, for final review and approval.

He said the funds are ready and the reconstruction of the Lagos Ports will start soonest even as the NPA perfects plans to sign another mandate letter for the upgrading of the Eastern Ports in about a month.

He stated: “In the last two years, NPA has realised the need for us to rehabilitate and reconstruct the ports all over the country. ‘’We have been having discussions with multilateral funding agencies that have sent various proposals that we have reviewed.

“What we did is to further discussion with interested parties and we realised is better is to separate the ports in Lagos from the ports in the East, and we are in discussion with another funding agencies to fund the construction of ports outside Lagos.”According to him, the Citibank facility is the cheapest for the Ports Authority because it comes with affordable interest rates.