Investigations by Shipping Position Daily have revealed that the Lillypond Truck Transit Park at Ijora in Apapa being managed by the Truck Transit Park Limited (TTPL) may rake-in not less than N300 Million naira monthly through the e- call up system of the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA).
The Lillypond Transit Park has been designated as the transit park for trucks awaiting the electronic call up into the port,
Checks by our correspondents revealed that the transit park has capacity to conveniently take over 2000 trucks. But, a truck owner operating within the axis said it is expected that with the e-call up system, the TTP will take not less than 1000 trucks every day.
The management of the Ijora TTP had exclusively informed Shipping Position Daily, that a service fee of N10, 000 is expected to be paid by truckers for the use of the transit park.
Our correspondent gathered that if the management of the Lillypond park charges the 1000 trucks N10,000 on a daily basis it will amount to N10 million and on monthly basis should amount to about N300,000,00 and N3.6 billion yearly.
The huge revenue accruable has even prompted some stakeholders to express worries that with the N10,000 fee attached to the use of the truck transit park, the management may care less about ensuring that trucks that comes into the port meet minimum standard.
While some believed that the fee is nothing compared to what they are paying to move containers to the port, others condemned the fee.
Chairman of the Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO) Chief Remi Ogungbemi in a recent chat with our correspondent condemned the payment of N10,000 fee, he said the fee shows that the NPA is only concerned about generating revenue and not to ensure minimum standard of trucks.
He said: “I don’t see any reason for that, I am seeing it as a way to rake in money and since the exercise is not about ensuring that the truck meet up with the minimum standard, I am worried about the N10,000 attached to it, so it look like what the management is concerned about is the N10,000 and not the minimum standard , they could have looked for other way to raise money instead of attaching money to the truck park, but I am in support that every truck that comes to the port must meet up with the minimum standard as required” he said.
On his part Mr. Adeyinka Bakare member of the governing council of Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) said that if the e –call up is well-regulated paying N10,000 will not be an issue, considering that it takes not less than N200,000 to move a container from Ijora Olopa to the ports.
“The fee is not an issue and I will tell you why, it takes you nothing less than N200, 000 to move from Ijoro Olopa down to the port, nothing less than that, now if we begin to pay N10, 000 to have a smooth movement into Apapa, I don’t think that will be an issue, if it is well regulated.
But the issue is paying that 10,000 and at the end of the day you still have to pay another thing. We hope that the e-call up works. It's going to be to the advantage of everybody but we are waiting for the kick off” he said.
