BUA Group has been directed to reopen its $400 million BUA Ports and Terminal in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. This is after the company received termination from the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA) last year. According to BUA Group, the termination issued by NPA will now be withdrawn.
Background Story
BUA Group and NPA had disagreed over the state of the terminal. NPA decommissioned the concession arrangement which BUA Group got in 2006. According to NPA, the terminal was an unsafe operational environment and needed urgent repairs and reconstruction.
However, Mohammed Ibrahim, the General Manager, BUA Ports and Terminals Limited, said the action of NPA withdrawing its license was against the requirement of global judicial/dispute resolution and undermined the NPA concession agreements. Ibrahim said on several occasions, BUA seek for approval from NPA to conduct remedial works on the terminal.
But according to BUA, the approval wasn't issued before NPA shut down the terminal or decommissioned the concession. However, NPA said BUA never wrote to the port authority before the terminal was shut down. It was learnt that BUA only wrote to NPA after the decommissioning and informed NPA of the terminal nearing collapse.
What You Need To Know
The new development gives BUA Group the right of operation. The order to reopen will lead to the discontinuation of the ongoing arbitration at the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA). Meanwhile, BUA said it has put structures in place to develop a best-in-class terminal at the Rivers port
“We are pleased to inform our stakeholders and the public that we have received official communication to that effect. The notice of termination issued by the Nigerian Port Authority sometimes last year against our River Ports-based BUA Ports& Terminal is to be withdrawn forthwith, the ongoing arbitration at the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) be discontinued and the BUA terminals be re-opened immediately for operations.
“This decision is in line with our earlier and consistent stand that all parties respect the content and the spirit of the concession agreement of the facility,” BUA said in a report by the Nation.
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