The Onitsha Port in Anambra State was abuzz with excitement early this month as the first barge for the 2025 season, MV ZUPITOR/MV RB ALASKA, berthed at the port.
The General Manager of Universal Elysium Limited, the concessionaire of the port, Mr Chris Mbonu, expressed his enthusiasm, describing the berthing of the barge as a positive milestone and a reminder of the pressing infrastructural gap.
Mbonu explained that operations at the port were ongoing but largely seasonal, with activity peaking only during the rainy season when the River Niger’s water level rises sufficiently to allow vessel movement.
He attributed the seasonal operation to the inconsistency of dredging and channel management of the River Niger, rather than a lack of infrastructure or demand.
“The port is functional and ready to work 365 days a year. But without consistent dredging of the River Niger, we are forced to operate only when the waterway allows us—essentially turning a national asset into a seasonal stopgap,” Mbonu said.
He likened a port without a navigable waterway to a car without fuel, adding that the current situation limits the port’s capacity to serve as a true inland logistics hub for Nigeria’s growing domestic and international trade. Mbonu appealed to the federal government, the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, the Nigerian Inland Waterways Authority, and private stakeholders to make regular dredging and maintenance of the River Niger a national economic priority.
Regular dredging of the River Niger, according to Mbonu, would unlock year-round navigability, enabling barges, ferries, and larger vessels to move seamlessly between the southern seaports and the inland commercial centers. This would lower transportation and logistics costs, ease congestion on critical highways, reduce delivery timeframes and business inefficiencies, and increase investor confidence in inland logistics.
The concessionaire also highlighted the potential impact on agriculture, tourism, and recreation, including helping farmers and aggregators move produce quickly and efficiently, encouraging investment in industrial and logistics infrastructure, promoting export trade, and supporting outbound movement of raw materials and agro-commodities via coastal ports.
With proper dredging of the River Niger, Onitsha River Port could transform into a year-round, multimodal commercial hub, impacting several sectors and driving economic growth. Mbonu emphasized that the infrastructure is in place, the demand is evident, and the benefits are far-reaching; what is required now is government consistency and strategic investment to make inland waterway transport a pillar of Nigeria’s economic growth.
