Report on Project and Project Management in Nigeria

Dredging of the River Niger
and its Project Management Challenges

Introduction

On Thursday, September 10th, 2009, President Umaru Yar'Adua, launched a project to dredge the River Niger in Lokoja [1]. It should be helpful to consider the importance of this project and its business justification. Embarking on the project is a bold and statesmanlike move by the president because it had been glossed over by earlier successive governments. It should be relevant also to explore the historical perspective and past activities on the subject. Further, it may not be surprising to read that there is some opposition to this project which passes through eight states of the country. It is therefore in order to discuss the views of its supporters and opponents. The conclusion comprises a commentary containing an analysis of the views of the opposition and contrasting them with some of the economic benefits.

Description of the project

The Nigerian Federal Government had on December 1, 2008 signed a contract for the dredging of the lower Niger. The main deliverable from the project, which is estimated at 36bn naira (£140m, $233m), is creating a navigable River Niger as it careers through the country and empties into the Atlantic Ocean. This in effect means the removal of silt from hundreds of miles of the river. It is the third longest river in Africa, after the River Nile and the Congo River. It extends about 2,600 nautical miles passing Guinea, Mali, Niger and into Nigeria to terminate at the Atlantic Ocean The dredging will cover about 572 kilometres, stretching from Warri, by the Atlantic Ocean, and located in Delta State to Baro, in the Niger State, in the middle west of the country. The project will cut across eight states of the federation which are Niger, Kogi, Anambra, Delta, Edo Imo, Rivers and Bayelsa.

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