Nigeria and the Netherlands have signed contract papers to commence the dredging of the Calabar seaport next month, Nigerian Transport Minister Abiye Sekibo said at the weekend in Calabar, the capital of Nigeria's southern state of Cross River.

On behalf of the Nigerian government, Sekibo said the contract would be executed at about 9.128 billion naira (about 70 million U. S. dollars), adding that the Calabar channel would be dredged to create a depth of 9.5 meter volume capable of accommodating heavy- duty ocean going vessels.

Sekibo said unlike the previous dredging by the Sani Abacha regime in 1997, the current exercise would be supervised for completion according to specification. Describing the agreement as "watershed" in the state's economy,

Cross River State Governor Donald Duke who witnessed the ceremony appealed to the federal government to direct ships to off- load at the Calabar port in order to change the dormancy currently being experienced there.

Calabar Free Trade Zone, the first of its kind in Nigeria established in the late 20th century, has attracted only a few foreign investors to open their businesses in the zone due to its poor investment environment.

The Calabar Port, which is not deep enough to accommodate oceangoing ships of over 10,000 dead weight tons, is a major factor of unattractiveness of the zone.

Source: Xinhua