The lingering traffic gridlock along Apapa-Oshodi expressway has taken is taking more tolls on imported used vehicles that were cleared from both PTML and Five Star Logistics terminal at Tin Can Island Port in Lagos.
The situation has also affected vehicle sale along the same expressway from the port to "Second Rainbow" bus stop , Mile 2, even as operators are lamenting massive drop in sale of used vehicles.
The lingering traffic gridlock along Apapa-Oshodi expressway has taken is taking more tolls on imported used vehicles that were cleared from both PTML and Five Star Logistics terminal at Tin Can Island Port in Lagos.
The situation has also affected vehicle sale along the same expressway from the port to "Second Rainbow" bus stop , Mile 2, even as operators are lamenting massive drop in sale of used vehicles.
Auto Port Weekly, investigation last week also revealed that the six spots where vehicles are sold within the stretch attributed low sales to the lingering traffic gridlock even as they said that some vehicles cleared from the ports spend days on the road.
Some of the parks visited include: Berger, Sunrise, Tin Can Island Motor Dealers Park, Trinity Corner Market, Freedom and the Mile 2 vehicle market at Second Rainbow.
An importer who was sighted by our correspondent explained last week Thursday that, "driving out of Five Star Logistics terminal, Tin Can Island port to Mile 2 took us two days, and we spend most of the hours within the port to Liverpool".
The importer; Dennis Ozorji lamented that the situation has degenerated in the last two months, saying that hundreds of vehicles are also trapped in the same situation.
According to him, cleared vehicles take about four days to exit the port, but the traffic gridlock will also add extra days before getting to the final dealers or its owners.
Speaking further the importer lamented that, "it is one major challenge we are facing on the expressway and we have no way out of this predicament".
He also called on the incoming government to help solve the problem, noting that the man hours lost to traffic gridlock is alarming.
Meanwhile, sampling responses from vehicle dealers, they all confirmed that sales have been adversely affected in the last three months due to gridlock.
At Freedom Park, Mile 2, George Uma said that the tanker drivers have made life difficult for them because no buyer is willing to face the menace caused by heavy duty vehicles.
Uma said that the situation has deteriorated to the extent that vehicles cannot exit the park.
"When you try to relocate your vehicle out of the market , you find out that can take a whole day before leaving Mile 2 alone", he stated.
“We are losing here and there is nothing anybody can do about, we only hope and pray that Buhari will help us from this problem", he appealed.
Also, a dealer based in Mile 2 , Mr. Olayiwola Olawale stressed that business activities on vehicle is no longer attractive due to the gridlock, he revealed that some of the operators have relocated to Festac Town to attract interested buyers from the Badagry axis.
He said there was no sale in the last quarter of 2015, also attributing the lack of sales to the gridlock.
However, Acho Madubuogor at Tin Can Island Port said that the operators at the market where vehicles are sold are used to the situation.
He said on several occasions, it is by night that the operators move their vehicles out of the park due to the gridlock.
Acho said, "even when you move your vehicle out of the market at night, there are indications that such a vehicle can be held up till dawn before eventually leaving the traffic".
The President, Berger Car Dealers Association, Mr. Metche Nnadiekwe, said, "business has been really slow. We don't get much patronage from buyers again. We have also been forced to reduce our imports because importing cars has become very expensive due to the present value of the naira.
"There is no point using all you have to import cars if there are no buyers for them."
"Apart from these challenges, the latest is the traffic jam along this stretch which is also killing the business"
"When things were rosy, we could get between 10 and 20 buyers in a day at this park alone. With all the other parks put together, the number was more. Now that things are so tight, we get an average of five buyers daily at this park. When you put figures together from other parks, it is about 50 buyers in the entire market."
But for now it is very difficult to get such half of the figure due to the latest traffic "
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