The Nigeria Port Consultative Council (NPCC) has renewed its call for the construction of fourth Mainland Bridge at Epe to handle the cargo traffic from Lekki deep seaport.
The Chairman of the council, Chief Kunle Folarin, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
He attributed the problem at the Tin Can Island port to inadequate alternative corridors to handle traffic into the ports.
The Nigeria Port Consultative Council (NPCC) has renewed its call for the construction of fourth Mainland Bridge at Epe to handle the cargo traffic from Lekki deep seaport.
The Chairman of the council, Chief Kunle Folarin, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
He attributed the problem at the Tin Can Island port to inadequate alternative corridors to handle traffic into the ports.
According to him, “when the Oshodi expressway was being constructed, they had the mind that the traffic that will be going towards the port, from Mile-2 exchange, will be only for the port.
“But then you cannot stop traffic that goes beyond the port and want to go on the Mainland or on the Island.
“When you add that, it’s a substantial traffic compare with what is going only for the port.
“It is a clear from that example that when you now build a port in Lekki, you must be thinking of how do you empty the traffic that it generate?
“Will it join the existing level of traffic or will there be dedicate traffic and that is why we canvas that at least there should be 11 lanes dual carriage ways.
“ Leading from the propose port using the axis of Epe and creating a fourth mainland bridge that will not empty its traffic through Lagos metropolis.’’
Folarin said that there was need to extend rail line connection towards the industrial area around Apapa ports, which could start from Liverpool in Lagos.
He said that the rail line would link the industrial areas and move cargoes out of Lagos to other destinations.
“All the traffic from industrial zone outside even the port environment will also be linked to factories.
“That is a way of de-congesting the road and making sure also that the cargoes gets to the owner within the shortest possible time.
“There were many tanks within the ports receiving liquid and weight cargo.
“Weight cargo in petroleum goes to the petroleum wharf. Don’t forget that there was petroleum wharf in Apapa.
“So liquid can goes there and if must to take delivery, you go there and its pump to all the tank you see in Ijora area form the petroleum wharf.
“There was a pipeline connection before, we need to resuscitate them so that you don’t have tankers coming in to load from the key apron.’’
On the issue of storage tanks, Folarin recalled that there were tanks for liquid cargo, in Apapa apron berth.
“There are a lot of hoses and hindrance that can accept ships with liquid cargo to be pump directly into tanks which are situated in the port and outside the port.
“We need to resuscitate that in other words, we must have storage facility and pipeline connections.’’
Discussion about this post