The Acting MD of the Nigeria Ports Authority, Mr Mohammed Bello-Koko, said the linking of railway to the Nigerian Ports systems has been a game-changer to logistics and the nation’s economy.
He however noted that more needs to be done; including removal of structures on rail routes to enable efficient port-rail system. He also said that the agency is working on making the Warri and Calabar ports more attractive to importers and investors.
The Acting Managing Director of the NPA disclosed these in an interview with Newsmen on Sunday; he said:
“We have been working with the Nigerian Railway Corporation to see how cargo can be evacuated. The interest is to see how cargo can get all the way to the inland dry port.
“There are meetings taking place between the West African Container Capital in Onne and APMT; this is to assist those inland containers to ensure that it reduces double charges once the cargo comes in.
“The one in APMT, we are hoping to start moving cargo inland by train. This has started but we are working with Nigerian Railway Corporation to give the right window so that once the train comes, the cargo is loaded into the right train without delay.
“The fact that the railway is already in the port has made the problem half solved. But they need to do a survey to find out what buildings need to come down to create space for the train. The ports are very old, they were not planned for a train going round all the terminals,” he said.
On port usage in the Niger Delta; he said that NPA provided pegs for shipping lines for ports at Calabar, Warri and those in Rivers State.
“We gave most to Calabar and Delta. The idea here was to take in their vessels into those locations. That has worked a bit, we also specified the kind of vessels that would come in and get those discounts.
“We had stakeholders’ engagement to encourage importers to take their vessels to those locations. We provided more marine services to those locations.
“But the usage of those ports depends on the importer. You cannot force an importer to take his goods to Calabar or Warri,” he said.
He stated that much cargoes are destined for factories in Lagos, so there must be enough incentives for the importer to take his cargo to Warri and then bring it back to his factory in Lagos.
“Calabar Port is the nearest to the Northeast of the country. So, if we encourage the use of that port, it means that all imports going to the Northeast pass through Calabar.
“The problem there, is that it has the longest channel and passing through the channel is very expensive. We are encouraging the use of those ports and we are giving incentives to the shipping companies to bring in their goods to those ports” he added.