By Joshua Yousouph
Barely five years after the completion of the N4.3 billion Apapa port access road by AG Dangote Construction Company, checks by Shipping Position Daily have revealed that the road is now in deplorable condition. This is even as truckers and private haulage operators have embarked on a bold initiative to champion palliative interventions on the deteriorating portion of the port access roads.
The access road which is a critical artery for the transportation of cargoes to and from the Apapa port in Lagos is currently dotted by potholes leading to persistent congestion and significant traffic delays and increased costs of business along that corridor.
Frustrated by the lack of action from government agencies responsible for road maintenance, a private haulage operator as well as truckers and other stakeholders in the industry have taken up the responsibility of providing filling the potholes.
Their ambitious plan involved providing palliative repairs on the port access roads to alleviate the daily struggles faced by drivers and businesses in the Apapa.
Shipping Position Daily recalls that in June 2017 a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Federal Government, AG. Dangote construction, the Flour Mills of Nigeria and Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) on the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the Apapa Port Wharf Access road through Corporate Social Responsibility at the cost of N4.3 billion.
The then Managing Director of NPA, Hadiza Usman, told stakeholders in a meeting in Lagos that the Authority would provide N1.8 billion while Dangote Group and Flour Mills would provide N2.5 billion. According to her, the reconstruction entails full drainage service and the total cost of the Apapa port access roads project is N4.3 billion.
However, the Group President of Dangote Industries, Aliko Dangote told the then-Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola during an inspection tour of the highway projects under construction by Dangote Industries Limited will last for 40 years when completed. According to Dangote, the project will be completed by July, 2018.
But, barely five years after completion, our correspondent who took a tour from the Apapa Port gate down towards Marine and Ijora Bridges last week sighted no fewer than 50 potholes on the long stretch of the road.
Specifically, some terrible bad spots were identified at Leventis and Area ‘B’ Police station axis of the Apapa port access road. These spots have become a nightmare for motorists and articulated trucks as they are forced to manoeuvre their way through deep ditches and port holes on both sides of the road.
Our correspondent also observed that the port access road under the Marine Bridge has become an eyesore and a den for street urchins, hooligans and drug peddlers. The road looks dangerous, messy and unattractive for motorists and truckers, particularly when it rains.
However, some parts of the express road descending from the Marine Bridge is a bit motorable as some palliative repairs were done on those portions of the road recently.
Speaking with Shipping Position Daily last week, the Vice President of the National Association of Maritime Transport Operators (NAMTOP), Mr. Rilwan Bello lamented that the government has not been responsive to the deplorable state of the port access road despite several pleas for intervention by truckers and other stakeholders.
Bello specifically noted that recently while palliative repairs were being carried out on some parts of the port access road at Ijora, a truck laden with crates of Guinness drink fell into the deep pothole on the road. He added that at that same spot, a container carrying glass fell and threw its cargo on the road.
The NAMTOP Vice President informed that last week, a transport and haulage company called “The Lord is Our Strength” came with another trailer load of hardcore to fill the potholes on the port access road. He further lamented that private individuals who have the interest of the business at heart have become more responsive to the deplorable state of the road which is the government’s responsibility.
Bello however called on the Federal Ministry of Works, the Nigeria Ports Authority as well as other relevant government agencies to be responsive to the deplorable state of the port access road. He stressed that it is not just palliative road maintenance that can help but outright road construction because most of the drainages are blocked and must be worked on.
Also speaking, the Secretary General of the Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO), Sani Bala Muhammed confirmed to our correspondent that the “Lord Is My Strength” Haulage Company and some well-meaning individuals embarked on the Apapa Port access road palliative maintenance to cushion the adverse effects of Truck falling with cargoes on bad sections of the road.
On his part, a Chieftain of the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), Mr Stephen Okafor also confirmed that he saw the recent palliative works done on the port access road, but noted that he cannot ascertain those who executed the project.
Okafor however stressed that the palliative works cannot stand the test of time particularly now during the rainy seasons where it would be washed away. He maintained that such a place that leads to the Nigerian ports should be taken seriously for major repairs and not just pouring those stones or palliative repairs.
