Freight forwarders operating at the Kirikiri Lighter Terminal have urged foremost RoRo terminal operator; Five Star Logistics terminal to provide barges for vehicles transfer from Tin Can Island port to the Brawal terminal located in Kirikiri; Apapa, Lagos.
Apart from the transfer of containers from the port to the terminal, freight forwarders have also said that transfer of vehicles to the terminal is another means of revenue generation to the government and will also help to decongest the seaports.
Freight forwarders operating at the Kirikiri Lighter Terminal have urged foremost RoRo terminal operator; Five Star Logistics terminal to provide barges for vehicles transfer from Tin Can Island port to the Brawal terminal located in Kirikiri; Apapa, Lagos.
Apart from the transfer of containers from the port to the terminal, freight forwarders have also said that transfer of vehicles to the terminal is another means of revenue generation to the government and will also help to decongest the seaports.
Chairman Caretaker Committee of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA)KLT chapter ,Mr. Chukwunonso Chukwudinma told Shipping Position Daily in Lagos last week that if the concessionaire can acquire barges for the transfer of vehicles to the terminal, it will enhance service delivery.
Chukwudinma stressed the need for Five Star Logistics to provide the facility like its competitor, saying it is important for effective delivery of vehicles to the importers.
According to him, road transfer of the vehicles to KLT is not encouraging which he described the process as being too slow and that road transfer can only handle smaller units of vehicles compared to barge transfer which can accommodate about 30 units of vehicles at a stretch.
"I seem to believe that if they use the waterways will be more lucrative and I am calling on Five Star Logistics Terminal Limited to buy barges that can convey vehicles to KLT instead of using road transfer as it is for now because if they use the waterways by barges, they will bring in more vehicles, to this terminal which I know is more lucrative”, he said.
He noted that apart from containers, KLT will be viable when high volume of vehicles are transferred from the Tin Can Island port to the place for clearance and it will also serve as a source of revenue to government.
The chairman also added that, “if they use the waterways, I know KLT will be very busy with business activities instead of going to the port to clear vehicle".
He also noted that members of the chapter are to pay a courtesy visit to the terminal operator this week on the need to provide barges for business purposes.
Chukwudinma went further to say that, "the terminal is a very big terminal and I think that place can accommodate more than 300 units of vehicles because it has a warehouse and another extra space".
Speaking further on the number of units that the terminal can accommodate he said, “if properly managed, it can take up 800 to 1000 units of vehicles and I must say that with barges, the transfer of vehicles would be better because with the road anything can happen but when you use the barges via the waterways, it makes it easier even to Five Star Logistics, the agents, the customs and the importers".
In a similar reaction, another freight forwarder, Mr Victor Ikem stressed the need for the concessionaire to provide barges to convey vehicles to the terminal at Kirikiri even as he reiterated that the disadvantages of using the road to transfer vehicles are relatively higher compared to the waterways.
He appealed to Five Star Logistics to emulate PTML as it will help the concessionaire in efficient service delivery.
According to him, "PTML has benefited a lot from this mode of transfer of vehicles from the port therefore why Five Star should continue to use the road when the KLT is also spacious to accommodate hundreds of vehicles".
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