The NNPC Limited has said that it has established a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) plan for the renovation of pipelines and depots around the nation.
It added that the initiative would successfully diversify the means of delivering petroleum products around the country, and that contracts for the BOT will be granted to successful investors this year.
At the 23rd Annual General Meeting/Conference of the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) in Abuja on Tuesday, the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC, Mallam Mele Kyari said that the oil company was supporting the Federal Government in rehabilitating the country’s roads, as approval was given for the first phase of 1,800 kilometre roads rehabilitation by NNPC, worth N621 billion
“That is ongoing as we speak and we are making good progress on those projects”, Kyari, who was represented by NNPC’s Group Executive Director, Downstream, Adeyemi Adetunji, stated.
He said that phase two of the roads rehabilitation project was approved last week by the Federal Executive Council, to the tune of N1.9 trillion, covering 44 roads with a total distance of 4,554 kilometres, as the oil firm was also looking at other means of transporting products.
Kyari said: “We are not resting on our oars. We are also looking at other modes of transporting petroleum products. Currently, we have put in place a build, operate and transfer scheme to rehabilitate the entire pipeline network and depots across the country.
“That process is at an advanced stage and very soon, in the course of the year, we will be awarding the contracts to the winners of the BOT process”.
On fuel supply challenges, Kyari said that NNPC was working with the various aspects of government to address this, as he urged NARTO to continue supporting the national oil company in keeping Nigeria wet with petroleum products.
On his part, the National President of NARTO, Yusuf Othman said the AGM provided an opportunity to interact with stakeholders on matters affecting road transportation business and the provisions of the Companies and Allied Matters Act.
He said the operating environment in the transportation business was very harsh throughout the year 2022, adding that perhaps this was the reason why the Gross Domestic Product growth year-on-year declined to 2.25 percent from the 4.05 percent recorded in 2021.
“The fall in the value of our revenue receipts was another major blow to our business due to rising inflation, which stood at 21.34 percent as at December 2022, against 15.63 percent recorded in the corresponding period of 2021″, Othman stated.
He added, “The practical implication of the above means there were not enough revenues to be used as fresh capital to replace our aging and dilapidated trucks or even undertake critical maintenance works and payment of overheads.
“To make matters even worse, the average interest rate charged by banks was 25.07 percent, a situation that made it difficult for our members to source funds.
“Fleet replacements, as well as the ability to buy spare parts is a function of one’s capacity to secure foreign exchange. Our members are not considered for allocation of foreign exchange at official rates, thus, they must source their forex from the parallel market”.
He further stated that bad roads were a major threat to safe transportation, but noted that there seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel after the approval of N621 billion NNPC tax credits for the repair and rehabilitation of 21 critical roads across the country.
