Ibadan Dry Port Is Ready For Inauguration – Official

Oyo State Shippers’ Association says the first phase of Ibadan Inland Container Depot (ICD) at Erunmu is ready for inauguration.
 Dr Ayo Omotoso, the president of the association, said that the concessionaire, Catamaran Logistics Ltd., would move into the ICD with their foreign partners after the inauguration. Omotoso said that the rail line from Lagos to Ibadan and Kano had been rehabilitated. He said that the rehabilitation of the rail would facilitate the take off of the dry port and others across the country.

Oyo State Shippers’ Association says the first phase of Ibadan Inland Container Depot (ICD) at Erunmu is ready for inauguration.
 Dr Ayo Omotoso, the president of the association, said that the concessionaire, Catamaran Logistics Ltd., would move into the ICD with their foreign partners after the inauguration. Omotoso said that the rail line from Lagos to Ibadan and Kano had been rehabilitated. He said that the rehabilitation of the rail would facilitate the take off of the dry port and others across the country.
He commended the Federal Government for rehabilitating the rail lines, adding that containers could now conveniently be transported by rail to the ICD sites.
 The shipper said that both ICDs and the Container Freight Station (CFS) were user facilities with public authority status. He said that the Ibadan ICD would handle imports and exports under the control of the Nigeria Customs Service and other agencies.
 The Federal Government in 2006, granted approval for the establishment of six Inland Container Depots (ICDs) and Container Freight Stations (CFSs) across the country. The ICD project was conceived by the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) as a solution to the problem of port congestion.
 The depots and stations approved for the six geo-political zones are located in Ibadan, Kano, Isiala-Ngwa, Jos, Maiduguri and Funtua. NAN reports that the delay in the implementation of the ICD project is causing concern among stakeholders.
 The Oyo State Government recently adopted a more proactive stand on the ICD project, unlike the past administrations which were not enthusiastic about the project. The Ibadan ICD has capacity for 50,000 containers (TEUS). The pace of work at the ICDs sites across the country is obviously slow since the project commenced about five years ago.