The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Terminal operators

  • Terminal operators: bad roads, traffic killing ports

    Bad roads and the menacing Apapa gridlock are frustrating operations at the nation’s seaports, the Chairman, Seaport Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria (STOAN), Princess Vicky Haastrup, has said.

    She said the situation is a monumental national disgrace, lamenting that it is frustrating operations at the ports.  She said terminal operators were working under the harshest business environment, despite the huge investments they have made towards the development of the ports, wondering why successive governments  allowed the port access roads to degenerate until they became impassable.

    She said: “The situation in Apapa, particularly as it relates to access to the port is a monumental national disgrace. How can a sector that has such huge potential and that generates billions of naira for government be left to so degenerate? Government is looking for oil but we have a sector that has the capacity to give you all the revenue you need yet the sector is suffering. Why has it not been attended to?”

    The STOAN chief said the large number of tank farms located within Apapa has also compounded the chaotic gridlock, while more licenses are still being issued to new tank farm owners.

    She also urged the Federal Ministry of Works, Power and Housing to urgently reopen the bridge exiting Apapa at Leventis/Area B, which has been shut down for several months without any visible sign of work being carried out on it.

    “Without reopening that bridge, the inflow and outflow of trucks will remain a major challenge in Apapa,” she said.

    Also speaking, the Africa Communication Manager of Maersk, Augustine Fischer, said the poor condition of roads in and out of the Apapa area remains a major blight on port operations in the country.

    He said the two seaports in Lagos handle more than 60 per cent of goods imported into country. While the volume of cargoes imported into the country has been on the rise —increasing from about 35 million metric tons (mmts) in 2006 to more than 80 mmts 12 years later —the roads through which these goods are taken out of the ports to their final destinations have gone from bad to worse.

    “The poor road condition coupled with lack of parking lot for trucks and proliferation of tank farms in Apapa, means these trucks have to spend days – sometimes as much as 10 days – to cover a short distance of less than five kilometre to enter the port to drop off, or take delivery of cargo.

    “The resultant effect is a backlog of cargoes at the port. Cargoes that should ordinarily exit the port within three days after discharge from the ship could remain in the port for as long as 21 days, waiting for trucks.

    “The best solution to the Apapa traffic congestion is to fix the roads and seek alternatives to cargo evacuation. The port has increased in efficiency and capacity but the port access roads have deteriorated progressively since they were built,” Fischer said.

    He said while the Federal Government is working to address the road condition especially as it affects the Wharf Road, which is the major road leading into the Apapa Port, and has also flagged off repair of the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, there is need for some immediate short-term measures to address the plight of commuters and ensure free flow of traffic on the roads.

    The short-term measures that government can take to address the gridlock, he said, include fixing alternative roads, such as the Leventis road, “which many now rely on to exit the port city”.

    Also speaking on the gridlock, the General Manager,  PTML Terminal, Tin Can Island Port Complex, Tunde Keshinro, said: “As Nigerians, we all know that for our ports to attain the desired efficiency, the roads need to be at that great and functional level, which unfortunately is not so.”

  • Terminal operators get two weeks to clear N40b debts

    Terminal operators get two weeks to clear N40b debts

    Terminal operators indebted to the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) have two weeks  to pay up or be sanctioned.

    At a stakeholders’ forum held in Lagos, NPA Managing Director Ms Hadiza Bala Usman threatened to sanction any operator who fails to clear its debt or provide holding bays for empty containers.

    Sources at the Federal Ministry of Finance (FMoF) told The Nation that the operators are owing about N40 billion.

    A source said NPA would double its revenue next year if operators kept their agreement with the authority.

    Usman also warned the operators against violating the terms of the concession under which the terminals were handed over to them.

    She cautioned shipping companies against engaging in shoddy business at the ports.

    “All terminal operators that owe NPA must be ready to pay up their debt. They must pay in the next two weeks or face serious sanctions,” she said.

    Ms Usman was furious when she learnt that an operator and a shipping company were violating the concession agreement.

    The National Public Relations Officer of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA,), Dr Kayode Farinto, alleged that the shipping company was charging importers additional N75,000 on each container.

    Farinto said the shipping firms and operators were making billions of naira yearly from some of the unilateral charges.

    Other stakeholders were unhappy that the operators were delaying clearing, resulting in increased port charges.

    Ms. Usman ordered an investiga-tion into the allegations of excessive charges amongst shipping firms and operators.

    NPA’s accounts section, she said, would recover all outstanding debts to boost the nation’s revenue profile.

    The NPA boss assured stakeholders that agreements signed with  operators and others would be reviewed in April, stressing that her administration had plugged loopholes to ensure transparency and accountability.

    She said a competitive tariff and pricing regime had been introduced at the ports, adding that NPA would ensure that operators complied with their agreements with the government.

    Some of the challenges stakeholders said were militating against revenue generation, include: provision of  a modern signal/control tower; an efficient signal station to monitor ship and other activities in the ports; provision of pilotage services by NPA; fostering Information Communication Technology (ICT) to improve service delivery through automation, hardware and speedy network and provision of marine craft and operational vehicles to boost efficiency at the ports.

    The stakeholders urged NPA to resolve the issues surrounding trailer parks and Apapa traffic gridlock.

  • Terminal operators waive N1.5b charges on TCN containers

    Container terminal operators have waived N1.5 billion charges on 500 containers carrying power equipment belonging to the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).

    A statement issued by the Seaport Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria (STOAN), the umbrella body of the operators at the weekend, and issued by its spokesman, Bolaji Akinola, said the container terminal operators waived the amount on the longstanding TCN containers in support of the Federal Government’s effort to ensure steady supply of electricity in the country.

    “We are not unmindful of the fact that electricity is the most important commodity for national development, he said, adding that stable electric power supply is an empowerment and an enabler for people to work from the domestic level and the cottage industries, through the small-scale and medium industries to employment in the large-scale manufacturing complexes.

    STOAN said the decision was taken in support of the government’s effort to ensure steady power supply and accelerate economic development.”

    According to the statement: “In April 2016, the Office of the Vice President set up a committee comprising of the Ministers of Finance, Transport, Power, Works and Housing, along with the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service to look into the stranded power equipment containers in the ports. As a result, terminals operators and shipping lines were invited to a meeting on April 5, 2016 at the office of the Minister of Power, Works & Housing.

    “We agreed at the meeting to a 50 percent storage waiver ending April 30th 2016 for the power projects, while the shipping lines agreed to 75 per cent waiver on demurrage.

    The body said government could not make payments for the containers and storage continued to accrue, prompting the need for another meeting  on 1st September 2016 to address the issue. STOAN said  because “we are committed to the well being of Nigeria and Nigerians, we still went ahead to honour the April 2016 agreement. The implication of this was that we had to waive additional charges that accrued as storage over another one year period from April 2016 to when payment was made in March 2017.”

    The Federal Government confirmed in January 2017 that it has taken delivery of the 500 power equipment containers from the port, saying the Minster of Power, Works and Housing,  Babatunde Fashola, made the announcement while receiving a 20-year Transmission Expansion Master Plan presented by the Interim Managing Director of TCN, Usman Gur Mohammed, in Abuja.

    Fashola said the containers containing transmission equipment have been deployed to TCN sites, pointing out that the delivery of the containers was in line with a presidential mandate to improve the capacity of TCN to deliver service between power generating companies (GENCOs) and power distribution companies.

  • How terminal operators increase govt revenue at ports 

    How terminal operators increase govt revenue at ports 

    A lot has changed at the ports since the Federal Government concessioned the terminals in 2006, a senior official of the Federal Ministry of Finance (FMoF), has said.

    The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), through the private terminal operators, the official said, has been running the ports effectively, saying NPA generated $140 million in 2005 before the concession and over $450 million from the Lagos Ports in 2014.

    Speaking with The Nation, the official said the government revenue has increased geometrically since the concession.

    The official, who asked his name be veiled, said government concessioned the ports to generate more revenue and allow for greater flexibility, efficiency and better services to importers and other port users by resolving some of the major challenges confronting ports operations.

    The turnaround time in 2005, at the Lagos Port complex and Tin-Can port, he said, was 10.0; vessel waiting time was 3.0, addinig that between 2014 and 2016, the turnaround time and vessel waiting time have reduced to 4.0 and 1.3 and zero level in 2017.

    He said: “Concession is a process whereby the concession grantor gives the right to operate facility and/or deliver a service of public interest to a merchant concession-aire, against the commitment assumed by the concessionaire to build and manage the subject of the concession, or to manage the delivery of service at the conces-sionaire’s own risk.”

    Before the 2006 concession, the official said, the ports demonstrated very low levels of efficiency, which resulted in long turnaround times for ships and increased container dwell time.

    In today’s global commerce, he said, seaports play an important role of being many nations’ major gateway for international trade and are a good instrument for measuring the economic health of a nation.

    “The ports have considerable influence on the volume and conditions of trade as well as the capacity for economic development of nations still developing.

    “In our country, greater percentage of international trade is routed through the sea, and given our huge population, it is believed that our economy accounts for over 70 per cent of all seaborne trade in the West African sub-region. Hence, the country’s ports are increasingly challenged to meet the pressure mounted from movement of ships and cargo in and out of the ports.

    “The Federal Government embarked on the concession of the ports basically to solve the protracted problems of inefficiency, corruption, mismanagement and huge debts that characterised the ports, then.

    “The rationale behind the concession includes the $34 million indebtedness of the NPA, the redundancy of 24 out of 83 managers as well as its poor management structure. Emphatically, concession of the ports refers to lease of port terminals and re-organisation of stevedoring companies. About 110 applications were received in December 2003 and out of 94 pre-qualified concessionaires, only 20 were granted approval to operate seaport terminals for between 10 to 25 years,” the official said.

    Since the concession was done, the official said: The cost of port services is now competitive; the turnaround time has improved;the percentage of berth occupancy rate has improved;the infrastructural facilities have improved significantly andthe security around the seaports has improved.

    The official, however, lamented the poor access roads to the Lagos ports and urged President Muhammadu Buhari and the Minister of Transportation to address the perennial gridlock in Apapa.

    The spokesman of the terminal operators, Mr Bolaji Akinola, said the concessionaires are working vigorously  with the current management of NPA to ensure that the ports become “the leading ports in Africa, to deliver efficient port service in a safe, secure and customer-friendly environment.Our core value as terminal operators includes efficiency, safety, security, customer friendly and new innovations”.

    Akinola said Nigerians have forgotten that before the concession, the “turnaround time for ships was too long and usually calculated in weeks, sometimes months, depending on the cargo being loaded or discharged; cargo-handling plants and equipment owned by the NPA were few and mostly unserviceable, leading to shipping companies hiring these machines from private sector sources after having paid for it.

    Dwell time for goods in ports, he said, was prolonged due to poor port management. “There was congestion in the port; corruption was high among contractors and various service providers at the port; the ports were rated as one of the costliest seaports in the world, as a result of the compounded problems.

    “Many port premises and quay aprons had fallen to disuse and failed road sections inside the ports made movement of goods within port grounds cumbersome and very slow; following the seaport congestion, complaints of untrace-able or missing cargoes were being regularly leveled against the NPA,” Akinola said, adding that the security inside the ports was said to have been compromised by the activities of camp-boys, wharf-rats and other miscreants operating inside the ports.

    Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Publicity Secretary, Dr Kayode Farinto, said with the huge equipment at the ports and the introduction of standard in the type of vehicles that can enter the ports, “NPA and the terminal operators have brought efficiency to the ports through the port reform.”

     

  • Terminal operators, others owe NPA N30b

    Terminal operators, others owe NPA N30b

    • Usman makes shocking discovery at Onne

    Terminal operators are owing the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) over N30 billion, The Nation has learnt.

    NPA’s Managing Director Ms Hadiza Bala Usman, sources said, was furious when she learnt that four terminal operators and two firms at Onne Port were owing the agency  $7,931,247 and N9,458, 785,726.

    The debt excludes  what the Nigerian  National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and other terminal operators are owing the agency.

    Ms. Usman has directed NPA’s  accounts section to recover the debt so as to boost the nation’s revenue profile.

    During her visit to Onne, the NPA boss said agreements signed with the  operators and others would be reviewed, stressing that her administration would plug all loopholes to ensure transparency and accountability.

    She directed all firms  to collect their receipts after transactions, saying NPA would pay revenue generated to the Federal Government through the  Single Treasury Account (STA).

    Ms Usman also directed that a competitive tariff and pricing regime be introduced at all sea ports, saying NPA would ensure that operators complied with the agreements they had with the government.

    She urged the debtors to pay up, or face sanction, saying she was not happy with the neglect of the quay apron by some operators.

    Ms Usman accused some of the operators of violating the concession agreement they signed with the government at Onne Port, threatening to take action if one of them fails to fix the collapsed Berth 8 section of the terminal.

    A senior Federal Ministry of Finance (FMoF) official told The Nation that the debts of three concessionaires on lease and throughput fees amounted to  $1,56 million.

    NPA, the official said, would double its revenue next year if  operators complied with the agreement they signed.

    Many of the companies, including some operators, it was learnt, were contesting the NPA’s right to charge Value Added Tax (VAT) on services provided by the authority.

    Investigation revealed that the  amount withheld as VAT by the protesters is N705.8 million.

    NPA, it was learnt, is insisting  on collecting the VAT because  the Federal Inland Revenue Service may ask it to pay the tax, if the it fails to collect the money.

    Some of the challenges militating against revenue generation which Ms. Usman has taken steps to address, include:

    • the need to have a modern signal/control tower;
    • an efficient signal station to monitor ship and other activities in the ports;
    • going to court over NNPC and other terminal operators’ debts
    • provision of pilotage services by the NPA;
    • addressing Information Communication Technology ( ICT) challenges to improve service delivery through automation, hardware and speedy network;
    • provision of marine craft and operational vehicles;
    • removal of abandoned service boats, barges and canoes on the waterways/channel and
    • the provision of transit accommodation for pilots embarking and disembarking from vessels in Bonny Town .

  • NPA insists on dollarisation of port transactions

    The Management of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) on Friday insisted on dollarisation of transactions and urged terminal operators to pay up to date.

    The Managing Director of NPA, Ms Hadiza Usman, stated this at a Stakeholders meeting in Lagos to round off her two-day tour of the Western ports in Lagos.

    She said that the dollar regime had been in operation before she assumed office in July and would still remain until a change is considered.

    “I know these are trying times for everybody but as partners, NPA relies on you to meet its statutory and corporate obligations.

    “From inception in 2006, the concession terms of payment is in dollar and it will amount to subversion of norms to change the goal post mid-way.

    “I feel for you, knowing the difficulty in garnering forex with the turbulent dollar to naira regime,’’ the News Agency of Nigerian (NAN) quotes Usman as saying.

    She urged stakeholders to think out of the box and ensure that the Federal Government royalties were paid as and when due to avoid sanctions.

    Some of the stakeholders, who appealed for a downward review of the tariff regime demanded that they should be considered to pay in naira.

    They further asked that NPA should make it a priority to ensure security within and around the ports, the water fronts and provision of facilities.

    The General Manager, Eko Support Services Lt., Mr Sani Edu, said that with the current tariff regime, Nigerian ports were not competitive.

    “In comparism to other ports in the West African sub-region, the Nigerian port is the most expensive.

    “That gives the neighbouring ports of Cotonou and Lome the edge because investors are free to choose where to invest their money,’’ NAN quotes Edu as saying.

    Mr Marshall Bombe of GMT Ltd, reminded the port management of the existing international shipping tariffs standard which also applied to Nigeria.

    “The volume of vessels sailing into Nigerian ports has declined from 30,000 to 10,000 in the recent past as a result of the unfavourable business environment,’’ Bombe said.

    Mr Pius Odobum of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) urged NPA to let the public know the status of Lilypond Terminal.

    According to him, freight forwarders whose cargoes were assigned to the terminal were having difficulties in clearing them as the place has become moribund.

    In her response to the plea, the NPA managing director said that her maiden recent tour of the ports had afforded her the opportunity of knowing the plights of operators.

    She said that henceforth the authority would liaise with other agencies at the ports for a Single Window operational pack to ease transactions.

    “This is the first time NPA is having a female managing director in 61 years and we intend to use the opportunity to improve the scheme of things,’’ Usman said.

  • Terminal operators are volating agreement, ministry official alleges

    Terminal operators are volating agreement, ministry official alleges

    • Buhari, Amaechi urged to intervene as concession ends in May

    Three months before the expiration of their 10-year concession, some port terminal operators have been accused of violating some terms of the agreement.

    They are said to have “systemically broken the lease fees” condition and also collected demurrage and storage charges on weekends and public holidays in contravention of the agreement.

    According to the concession, the operators can only collect such charges on “business days”, which are defined as days “banks are not authorised or required to close”.

    A senior official of the Federal Ministry of Finance (FMoF), who raised the alarm, called on President Muhammadu Buhari and Minister of Transport Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi to plug loopholes at the ports and ensure that the operators generate more revenue in the face of the falling oil price.

    He noted that contrary to the concession, the operators have been paying the same amount as “lease fees” since 2009.

    The operators, the official alleged, are conniving with some ports officials to short-change the government on the amount they are expected to pay yearly.

    He enjoined Buhari and Amaechi to ensure that a throughput fee calculated on the basis of one United States dollar ($1) per tonne handled on the premises of each  terminal in case of both Bulk and break-bulk cargo and $16 per TEU handled in the terminal for containers are paid to the government.

    “The amount is payable in arrears at the end of each monthly period beginning on the first day of the first month after the ‘effective date’ they took over the terminals.

    “Government must also ensure that the throughput fee, together with the fixed ‘lease fees’ are paid as stipulated by the concession agreement to boost the economy.

    “It is stated in Appendix F of the concession agreement that throughput fee shall be assessed on empty and laden containers, import/export cargoes and shell be paid to the less or within five days after the last day of the applicable period,’’ he said.

    The operators, the official said, are not expected to pay the same amount to the government as lease fees yearly.

    “Apart from the initial $2 million some of them paid as ‘commencement fee’ to operate in each of the terminals in May 2006, they are expected to pay a fixed annual payment of between $8 million and $10 million in each of the first three year (May 2006-May 2009) and $19.5 million each year between June 2009 and May, this year, he said.

    Some operators, the official noted, have not added value to their services and terminals since the ports were handed over to them, accusing them of not following “Prudent Industry Standard (PIS)” the clause in the agreement.

    “PIS means the generally accepted practices, methods, techniques and standard employed by the international multipurpose terminal industry in accordance with applicable law with respect to (a) the development, operation and maintenance of multipurpose terminals; (b) personnel and terminal safety and environmental protection and (c) optimising the performance of the operations.

    “The terminal operators are expected by the agreement to use their best efforts to develop market and promote cargo throughput and cargo-related business of the port in order to achieve maximum utilisation thereof in a manner which is consistent with the law and PIS and ensure there is no decline in the standard.’’

    He regretted that most of the terminals were stocked with old equipment inherited from the NPA, adding that most of the inherited buildings are dilapidated and occupying space that would have been converted to cargo delivery.

    The official lamented that the ports were still burdened by bureaucratic hitches, periodic technical blackouts and duplication of processes by government agencies.

    “In its quest to generate more revenue, the Federal Government, must always demand for accurate data on the quantity, types and weights of cargo handle in each of the terminals; accurate data on the number and types of ships, wagons or road trucks loaded or unloaded in each of the terminal; average ship turnaround time, cargo dwell time, truck loading and unloading time,” he said.

  • Buhari urged to audit terminal operators

    Buhari urged to audit terminal operators

    •Firms accused of violating concession agreement •N10b realised yearly in demurrage, storage charges

    PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has been urged to direct the Ministry of Transport,  Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) to conduct performance audit of the concession of seaports  to determine their progress and challenges since 2006.

    The concessionaires, it was learnt, make huge amount from service charges and also rake-in over N10 billion annually, from storage and demurrage charges on importers and clearing agents without a corresponding improvement on their terminals.

    In 2016, it will be 10 years since the ports concession agreement was signed by NPA and the operators.

    A senior official at the Federal Ministry of Transport (FMoT), who asked not to be named, said some operators had not added value to their services and terminals since the ports were handed over to them.

    Most of the terminals, he said, were stocked with old equipment inherited from the NPA, adding that most of the inherited buildings are dilapidated and serving no purpose apart from occupying space that would have been converted  to cargo delivery and process procedure.

    Huge demurrage and other sundry factors, he said, are making the ports uncompetitive and unattractive for business.He therefore urged Buhari to address  the problem.

    The uncompetitiveness of the ports, the official said, has made it difficult for them to attain world-class status.

    More than nine years after the NPA surrendered its cargo handling functions to private terminal operators, the official said, things are not looking good.

    The ports, according to him, are still burdened with bureaucratic glitches, periodic technical blackouts and duplication of processes by a plethora of government agencies at the port.

    NPA, according to him, is well focused on its agenda to facilitate trade and reduce cost. The problems created by the concession, the official said, is hampering the robust injection made by the management of the authority into port operations.

    President Buhari, the official said, should see the problem as one of the key issues  to address while carrying out his reform programme for the maritime sector next year.

    The Federal Government and the NPA, he said, need to carry out competence and performance audit on each of the terminals, see where they have erred in law and apply sanctions where applicable.

    Investigation conducted by The Nation revealed that the terminal operators are collecting demurrage and storage charges both at weekends and public holidays, which is against the agreement  signed with the NPA before the terminals were concessioned to them in 2006.

    Article 1 of the concession agreement, exclusively obtained by The Nation, showed that importers are only expected to pay on “Business Days.”

    Business days, according to the agreement “means a day on which commercial banks in Nigeria are not authorised or required to close.”

    Efforts, the official disclosed, are on by the NPA, the Nigeria Shippers’ Council (NSC) and other critical stakeholders to reassess the gains of ports sector reform and make recommendations for refocusing and fast-tracking it in line with the Change Agenda of President Buhari’s administration.

    “In spite of the reforms carried out by the Obasanjo administration, Nigerian seaports still lag behind world-class ports in Africa and elsewhere, with respect to speed of cargo clearance, demurrage charges and ease of evacuation of cargo from the ports.

    “With a throughput of more than 90 million metric tonnes in cargo, there is something to cheer about this robust initiative of the NPA.

    “But we make bold to say that it is not yet uhuru, because  the system is burdened by bureaucratic glitches, periodic technical blackouts, and duplication of processes by a plethora of government agencies, which lead to rising demurrage charges and avoidable pains to many port users.

    “Figures from the Nigeria Shippers’ Council show that importers and clearing agents pay between nine and N11 billion annually for storage and demurrage charges alone.

    “Even after clearing their cargo from the Lagos ports, the poor state of roads leading to the ports make evacuation a nightmare for importers, other port users and residents of the areas,” he said.

    The official expressed the need for various government agencies at the ports to work together, speed up the clearing process and eliminate duplications in their roles. This, he said, will radically reduce the cargo dwell time to between two and three days.

    An importer, Mr Teslim Fatoki, urged the Federal Government to stop port concessionaires from charging demurrage during weekends and public holidays when banks are not opened for business.

    Fatoki called for rapid and radical expansion of existing facilities at the Lagos ports and the need to build new seaport to halt cargo diversion to ports of neighboring countries

    “The Buhari administration must ensure that port facilities of world class standard are provided to meet up with the demands of stakeholders in the maritime industry.

    “Government and NPA must embark on performance audit of the concessioning programme of the sea ports with a view to examining progress recorded almost 10 years since its commencement.

    “We need new investors that will add value and efficiency to our port system through the provision of modern cargo handling plants, equipment and technology, so as to make our seaports are competitive, user-friendly, efficient, cost-effective and attractive to stakeholders in the maritime industry,” Fatoki said.

     

  • Terminal operators sack workers

    Terminal operators sack workers

    Seaport Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria (STOAN) members are facing hard times – no thanks to the Federal Government’s auto policy.

    Over 50 per cent of staff of one of the terminals at the Tin-Can Island port in Lagos has been sacked.

    Investigation revealed that the promoters of the terminal are thinking of ways to diversify because of the low number of vehicles coming to their terminal.

    Speaking with The Nation, the Chairman, Shipping Association of Nigeria (SAN), Mr Val Usifoh said there is a lull in some of the terminals because of the policy.

    Usifoh,who is also the Chairman of the Port Industry Anti-Corruption Standing Committee (PIACSAC), said the policy has led to reduction in cargo volume at the port since the beginning of the year, adding that some policies of the government on importation have contributed to the low volume of cargo handled at the port.

    Investigation revealed that over 70 per cent of fairly-used vehicles, popularly known as Tokunbo, being imported now come through the neighbouring Port of Cotonou, Benin Republic because of the policy.

    Also, a senior official of one of the terminals in Lagos, who does not want to be named, said the volume of imported vehicles has reduced more than half since the introduction of the auto policy.

    “The number of vehicles being discharged in all our ports has reduced by more than 60 per cent.

    “So, the calculation is if the whole of Lagos was discharging 20,000 or 25,000 vehicles every month, it is like we are now doing 6,000 vehicles.

    “We have noticed that the number of vehicles coming into Cotonou has increased dramatically; so we are losing business while Cotonou is gaining business. Everyone can understand what this means.

    “This policy is gradually affecting the port industry and this is affecting the overall population because the prices of vehicles are going up in the market and this is something we notice every day,” he added

     

  • Terminal operators insist on 24-hr service at ports

    Terminal operators insist on 24-hr service at ports

    The Seaport Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria (STOAN) on Monday insisted that the ports should remain open for 24 hours, including weekends and public holidays, to eliminate congestion.

    The Spokesman of STOAN, Mr Bolaji Akinola, said this in a statement made available to newsmen in Lagos.

    The statement said the concession agreement provided for 24-hour operation at the ports.

    It explained that this was a position reinforced by a former Minister of Transport, Sen. Idris Umar, at a meeting he held with stakeholders on Sept. 27, 2013 at the Western Ports office of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) in Apapa, Lagos.

    The statement said the meeting noted that all parties must turn up for cargo examination and delivery on weekends and public holidays.

    “The NPA had also, at various times, reiterated the importance of weekend and public holiday operations at the ports.

    “For example, on Oct. 2, 2013, the NPA issued a public statement to the effect that there were cargo clearance operations at the various terminals on Oct. 1,’’ STOAN Chairman, Mrs Vicky Haastrup said.

    Haastrup said it was in the interest of the larger port community that the ports remained open every day for both ships and land side operations.

    “The 24-hour operation provides the necessary spread, to eliminate congestion and unnecessary backlog of consignments inside the terminals.

    “ It makes the ports a lot more efficient and is mandatory.

    “The terminals are open for full operation on weekends and public holidays and many consignees take delivery of their cargo on such days.

    “Traffic is lighter and the rush is not as bad as what you see on weekdays; so we urge those who are not taking advantage of these days to do so,’’ Haastrup said.

    She added that since terminals were opened during weekends and public holidays, operators were bound to apply relevant charges.