WARRI/Nigeria: The Delta State Commissioner for Transport, Mr Vincent Uduaghan, has assured motorists and other users of NPA Expressway of government’s commitment to resolving the menace of trucks and petroleum tankers parked hazardously along road.
Mr Uduaghan gave the assurance when he paid an assessment visit to the old and new Petroleum Tankers Park under construction on Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement in Warri.
The Commissioner who was in company of the Executive Assistant to the Governor on Investment and Promotions, Mr Paul Nmah, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transport, Mr Edwin Abraka and other management staff stated that the old Petroleum Tankers Park “Is undergoing rehabilitation, while the new Tankers Park has recorded tremendous construction development as the terrain was swampy and water logged.”
He added that at the completion of the Ultra-Modern Petroleum Tankers Park in Ekpan, Uvwie Local Government Area, the issue of accidents caused by tankers parked on both sides of the NPA Expressway would be a thing of the past.
Mr Uduaghan thanked the State Governor, Senator Dr Ifeanyi Okowa for the speedy consideration and approval of the new Tankers Park, adding “There are economic and social benefits to the community where it is sited as well as the whole State.”
He further disclosed that the state governor had expressed his sympathy to persons that lost 12 Petroleum Tankers to an inferno in an alleged welding activity that resulted in the fire outbreak.
According to Mr Uduaghan, “So many lives have been lost along the NPA Expressway, including a senior lecturer at the Delta State University and also a lady billed to get married within a month.”
He stated that there were 10 petroleum tank farms around Ifie, Ubeji and other communities, stressing, “The best time to address the issue is now.”
Earlier, the Executive Assistance to the Governor on Investment and Promotions, Mr Paul Nmah, said that the state government planned to establish a trailer park at Umunede depending on the pre-visibility and visibility reports, adding that citing tankers’ park involved lots of technical procedures.
The Chief Executive Officer of Deiking Multiple Concepts Ltd, Mr Henry Nwabuzor who is in-charge of the construction of the new ultra-modern park, stated that the park would accommodate 1,000 petroleum tankers with expected facilities such as fire service post, police post, clinic, maintenance section, rest rooms and restaurants amongst other.
