The Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) has fingered poor access roads to the ports as well as non-availability of functional holding bays for empty containers as some of the major challenges its members operating at the Nigerian maritime industry faced in 2018.
The Lagos state Vice Chairman, Dry Cargo section, NARTO, Alhaji Abdullahi Inuwa, who stated this in a chat with newsmen on Wednesday at Tin Can Island ports, Apapa also said that the non-availability of functional holding bays for receiving empty containers has led to the reduction in the man-hour of truckers.
He however said that though there were lots of challenges in the outgoing year but the members are very optimistic that the situation is about to change for better.
"We the truckers have faced a lot of challenges even though the situation is about to change for the better. There were some challenges that have to do with accessing the port, there were some challenges in the area of port operations, especially the non- provision of holding bays for receiving of empty containers by the shipping companies and this did not allow the importer to have their goods out of the port because it is when there is free flow of movement that things will be well for truckers”, he said.
Inuwa acknowledged that the situation was gradually improving in terms of infrastructural development as evident in the reconstruction of the Wharf Road in Apapa and the flag-off by the federal government of the reconstruction of the Oshodi-Apapa-Oworonsoki expressway which according to him would improve the ease of doing business at the ports.
He lauded Dangote, Flour Mills and the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) for their commitment in addressing the road challenge in the sector.
He appealed on the federal government to see to the speedy completion of the Oworoshoki-Oshodi expressway whose reconstruction was recently flagged off by the federal government.
He called on the contractors to provide alternative routes before the commence the reconstruction in other to ease the traffic while the reconstruction is ongoing.
“But we just hope that seeing that federal government came to flag off the reconstruction of Apapa-Oworonsoki-Oshodi expressway, we hope the project will be speed up. Apart from that, all other things that they know will cause some obstacles during the construction work, that is both the NPA management and the contractor handling the reconstruction work, let them do the needful. On the part of the contractor, let them create alternative routes before the reconstruction work begin and carry out palliative on those roads so that there will be smooth flow of traffic”, he stated.
On the expectations of the association in 2019, the NARTO chieftain said,
"We are expecting to have a smooth flow of traffic because part of the problem is not having functional holding bays for receiving empty containers. I think that if Brawal lighter terminal which is empty and I know that the concession for the Lillypond terminal has expired since 2016, if the Nigerian Ports Authority will have the political will to at least make use of these two terminals and dedicate them to only shipping companies that have no holding bays to be receiving only empty containers. It is from there that the shipping companies will ferry their empty containers to the port because the terminal can get approval from NPA on the number of containers that are moving to the port, they can raise call up for the trucks to carry them. They can as well make use of the rail to take them to the port".
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