The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has said it is making every effort to restore normalcy to the chaotic transportation situation along Lagos ports access roads.
The Managing Director of NPA, Hadiza Bala Usman, said this on Monday in Lagos, at a colloquium organized in honour of the former President, Association Of Licenced Customs Clearing Agents, Prince Olayiwola Shittu, to mark his 68th birthday.
She said that one of the critical areas the agency was working on is to reduce congestion in the Tincan Island and Apapa ports axis, a problem she linked to lack of intermodal transportation system.
According to her, about 90% of cargo is being evacuated by road which usually lead to road congestion, adding the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) is working actively with the support of the Federal Ministry of Transportation to ensure cargo evacuation by rail.
Usman, however, lamented that there was a huge number of tank farms within Apapa and Tincan Island ports, which daily evacuate their products through roads.
The NPA boss confirmed that the Authority had called the agencies in the petroleum industry to facilitate the evacuation of liquid using pipelines, adding that this will go a long way in reducing the congestion within Lagos sea ports.
She explained: “We believe that utilization of intermodal cargo evacuation will address the congestion when the use of rail, pipelines, and inland water ways are provided.
“We are working seriously with all the agencies of Government responsible for this to ensure that those are made within a short period of time”, Usman added.
This is even as she explained that utilization of empty container holding bays by the shipping companies had been instituted, adding that it is important for a shipping companies to have holding bays that will take their empty containers.
The NPA boss explained further: “As part of the need to decongest the ports, we are currently seeking for locations for trailer parks.
“We have collaborate with the Lagos and Ogun state governments to license trailer parks and those trailer parks will be the location where trucks will be parked and called up to the ports to pick up their cargo,” she added.
