Professional and engineering decisions informed the relocation of the $4.6 billion Ibom Deep Sea Port (IDSP) to Ibeno from Okposo.
Mr. Ezekail Adamu, spokesman to Felak Concepts Ltd, the Transaction Advisor/Consultants to the IDSP and Free Trade Zone project, said the relocation was not political.
He explained that the project initiated by the Federal Ministry of Transport and Akwa Ibom State government is a full scale Greenfield Commercial Deep Sea Port Development in line with the proposed Ibom Industrial City (IIC).
It was too strategic for the Federal Government and Akwa Ibom state to be subjected to politics, he said.
“Our company observed due diligence and subjected the selection process to high level transparency as evidenced in all the technical reports submitted. We did not influence or manipulate the relocation of the ports from Okposo to Ibeno,” Adamu said.
Five locations were initially shortlisted for the mega-project expected to provide no fewer than 300,000 jobs.
Out of the five locations, Okposo was selected as the site at the preliminary stage based on initial/ preceding studies for the Initial Due Diligence (IDD) which itself was subjected to further studies and research to ascertain its suitability.
The consultant explained that this was in line with global best practices for projects of this magnitude and nature as all the characteristics and parameters were considered “leading or required to arrive at and make a fully founded location selection in the Final OBC/PPF document.”
