BUA invests $65m in Rivers Port Terminal project, no public funds used

BY MOTOLANI OSENI

BUA Group has committed over $65 million in private funds to reconstruct Terminal B of the Rivers Port Complex, confirming that the project is entirely self-financed and expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2026.

The company announced this in its recent statement in response to comments by former Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) Managing Director Hadiza Bala Usman, who accused BUA of violating its concession terms.

BUA stated that the reconstruction followed formal government approval in 2022, after the Attorney General of the Federation directed the NPA to lift its suspension of the terminal upgrade. The project was awarded to Italian firm TREVI and has since proceeded without public funds or subsidies.

The dispute began in June 2019 when the NPA, under Hadiza Bala Usman, decommissioned berths 6 and 7, citing safety concerns. BUA, through its subsidiary BUA Ports and Terminals Ltd, challenged the directive in court, arguing that the move violated a valid concession agreement.

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The matter escalated to the Attorney General in 2020 following a direct appeal by BUA Chairman Abdul Samad Rabiu to then-President Muhammadu Buhari. A presidential directive subsequently ordered the NPA to withdraw its termination notice and reinstate BUA’s rights to the terminal.

By 2022, after Hadiza’s removal from office, the NPA granted BUA formal approval to resume the reconstruction. The terminal plays a critical role in BUA’s $500 million industrial complex in Port Harcourt, which includes sugar, pasta, and flour plants. BUA stated that the 2019 decommissioning had put over 4,000 jobs at risk and caused losses exceeding $10 million.

The company said the current administration’s business-friendly posture has restored investor confidence and disclosed that it has invested over $1 billion across key sectors since 2023.