The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has said that ongoing construction of the Apapa Wharf road is 90% completed and that the road will be opened go port users within the next one month.
Shipping Position Daily findings however showed that the road was opened to truckers on Monday and there was excitement on the part of port users and motorists following the free flow of traffic into the port.
Managing Director of NPA, Hadiza Bala Usman while delivering a paper titled "Driving the Change Agenda through Freight Forwarding" at the Prince Olayiwola Shittu Colloquium at 68 and Book Presentation which held in Lagos recently said that NPA has so far contributed N1.3billion to the construction of the wharf road.
She said that the major problem with the Apapa port and Tin Can Island Port is the absence of intermodal system for cargo evacuation, according to her 90% of cargoes coming into both ports are being evacuated by road.
Hadiza called on the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to ensure that petroleum tank farms scattered around the port area are made to evacuate product through pipelines.
"Wharf Road is at 90% completion and it would be handed over within the next one month and Nigerian Ports Authority contributed N1.3billion to the construction of the wharf road which is outside our mandatory requirements. We also sought to collaborate with the Nigerian Customs Service in the deployment of ICT system; the single window should be deployed in all our ports"
"We also sought to have call up systems deployed at our port locations, one of the challenges we have is the congestion within the Tincan port and Apapa port area, this is attributable to the absence of intermodal system for cargo evacuation, we have about ninety percent of our cargoes being evacuated by road and evidently this would translate into congestion"
"Rail evacuation is very minimal even though the Nigerian Railway Corporation is working actively with the ministry of transportation to deploy rail connection at the port, currently we have minimum connection and absence of the wagons that needs to be deployed"
"I call on the DPR to ensure tank farms evacuation of liquid bulk by pipelines to ensure reduction in the congestion within port location, we believe that the utilization of the intermodal means of cargo evacuation would address the congestion" she said
She said the NPA is ready to license trailer parks that would serve as a central rallying point for all trucks seeking to enter into the port to do business, she however lamented this has not attracted much patronage.
According to Hadiza, so far, NPA have only received only two submissions.
She pleaded with the general public to provide NPA with locations, adding that it is not the responsibility of NPA to build trailer parks but to license them and ensure deployment of IT call-up system to ensure the parks are connected to the port.
The NPA boss called on the Federal Ministry of Works Power and Housing to conclude the development of the Tin Can Island Trailer Park, saying that "There is a portion of it which is outstanding and this is the shore protection, this is necessary to address the congestion within the location"
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