BusinessDay 20 Jul 2017

32 BUSINESS DAY C002D5556
BUSINESS
MARITIME
SHIPPING LOGISTICS MARITIME e-COMMERCE
Thursday 20 July 2017
Forex scarcity, poor infrastructure biggest
challenge to efficient port operations - Travers
...As JPS wins European Quality Award
Stories by
UZOAMAKA ANAGOR-EWUZIE
Scarcity of foreign
exchange required
by terminal
operators to
settle their annual
dollar obligations to the
Nigerian Ports Authority
(NPA) and the poor state of
road infrastructure leading
to the two major seaports in
Lagos (Apapa and Tin-Can
Island Seaports), have been
identified as major setback
to effective port operations
in Nigeria.
Simon Travers, managing
director of Josepdam
Port Services (JPS) Nigeria
Limited, concessionaire in
charge of Terminal A of the
Tin-Can Island port, who
said this in Lagos recently,
said that scarcity of foreign
exchange was a massive
challenge to terminal operators
in Nigeria owing to the
fact they have an obligation
to pay to the NPA in dollar
to cover for throughput fee
and royalty.
“We have been asking
the NPA to allow us pay
our obligations to them in
naira because of the high
exchange rate, but NPA refused
on the ground that it
also has an obligation to pay
to government in dollar,” he
lamented.
Recall that in 2006, after
the Federal Government
concessioned cargo handling
operations to private
terminal operators on lease,
the NPA assumed the landlord
status, which mandated
the concessionaires to pay
L-R: John Apata, maintenance manager; Aindero Oladele, operations manager; Simon Travers,
managing director and Friday Enamegbai, commercial manager. All from Josepdam Port Services
(JPS) Nigeria Limited at an event held last week in Lagos to unveil the prestigious European Quality
Award, given to the company by European Committee in Switzerland recently.
throughput, lease, royalty
and other categories of fees
to the NPA.
Some of the fees were
paid in dollar, which was not
an issue at the beginning
but the situation changed
two years back when the
cost of foreign exchange
skyrocketed as the prices
of crude oil, Nigeria’s main
source of foreign exchange,
fell in the international market.
According to Travers,
poor road infrastructure,
which limits movement
of cargo in and out of the
port terminals, was another
challenge that draws back
port operations as lots of
man-hour is lost on traffic
in and out of the ports.
“One of the challenges
that we are having at the
moment as regards to port
business is poor infrastructure.
The road infrastructure
at the port has become very
appalling. And for us to
encourage trade in Nigeria,
there is need for free flow
of cargo from the terminal
to the hinterlands and this
is becoming the biggest
challenge against doing
business in our ports today,”
stated Travers.
JPS boss also expressed
worries over the blame
game between the Federal
and Lagos State Governments
regarding who has
the responsibility to fix the
port roads in Lagos (Apapa-
Oshodi Expressway and
Ijora-Apapa/Wharf road),
which have been in sorry
state over the past five years.
“We have been asked as
NPA’s stakeholders to assist
and we are willing to but the
Federal Government needs
to start from finding solution
to the traffic gridlock by
removing trucks off the road
to ease movement of cargo.”
Despite these challenges,
Travers disclosed that
the terminal was recently
given European Quality
Awards for its progression
in productivity, effectiveness,
environment and staff
welfare. He said that the
company, which has been
under the surveillance of
the organisers of the award
since the past two years, was
nominated for the international
award and also invited
to be part of the award
conference in Switzerland.
“It was an international
award organised by European
Committee. The
organisers of the award
collected information and
statistics on companies’
performance, which was
reviewed and we came out
the overall best among other
companies from different
continents and industries,”
he added.
According to him, the
management of JPS recognises
the company’s
partners that include stevedores,
security officers,
domestic and other staff,
whose efforts in one way
or other contributed to the
success recorded in the
past.
On the significance of
the award, he said: “This
award is extra ordinary
important because it shows
that we have been recognised
outside Nigeria.
We had competitors from
different industries and
parts of the world including
China, Sovereign America
etc but we came out on top.
It also allows us to enter the
international market and
several foreign investors
have started talking to us
on possible partnership
that would enable them to
develop their businesses in
Nigeria.”
Stating that the international
award was just the
first of many awards JPS
would win, he assured Nigerians
that the company
would be at the forefront
of quality, productivity and
effectiveness.
“Our ability to develop
our staff to become more
productive was the reason
why we are investing
in training and building
training facilities as part of
the vision we have towards
arriving at where we want
to be in the next five to 10
years time.
“We are putting up more
finance to develop the terminal
in five years time.
Though, there are hiccups
on the way but we are going
to get there. Our vision
is to make JPS the best bulk
terminal in Nigeria. We have
started but we need to put
more standards, go green
and be more productive
and effective. This is why
we have managed to get this
award.”
The JPS boss however
disclosed that the company’s
next stage is to invest
in increasing the productivity
of vessels calling the
terminal by improving their
turnaround time from three
to five days on berth to one
or two days on berth. “We
are restricted by the number
of berths that we have but
we can say that we are the
busiest terminal in Lagos.
He also said that JPS has
and will continue to invest
in training of its staff to enhance
the ability of staff to
deliver on their responsibilities.
In terms of staff welfare,
we have built new training
facility of international standard
on our facility and new
staff canteen.”
He further disclosed that
the terminal is going into
e-banking to reduce the
volume of human traffic in
the terminal and make for
ease of payment for customers.
“We appreciate our
staff, contractors, customers
and all our stakeholders for
enabling us get to where we
are today
Immigration promises to support LADOL’s job creation, local content drive
The Nigeria Immigration
Service (NIS)
has assured the Lagos
Deep Offshore
Logistics base (LADOL) of
an enabling operating environment
to enhance jobs
creation and full implementation
of Local Content Act
on the facility.
Modupe Anyalech,
comptroller of Immigration,
Lagos Seaport/Marine Command,
who gave the assurance
during a working visit
to LADOL Free Zone (LFZ)
in Lagos recently, called on
government agencies such
as Nigeria Export Processing
Zones Authority (NEPZA),
Customs Service, Civil Defense,
and the Nigerian Navy,
who operate at the base to
support LADOL.
“LADOL is out to create
jobs and sustain local content
drive, I think all they
need from us is encouragement
and we will do our part
to encourage them. We look
forward to when LADOL will
achieve their desire, which is
becoming 100 percent local
base in the next couple of
years,” she said.
The LADOL base in Apapa
pilotage district, Lagos,
is currently playing host to
the integration yard for a
Floating, Production, Storage
and Offloading (FPSO)
oil production platform to
be operated by Total Exploration
and Production.
The project valued at over
$3.8 billion and being undertaken
by Korea-based
Samsung Heavy Industries
(SHI) with LADOL as the
local content partner, is currently
providing thousands
of direct and indirect jobs to
trained Nigerians in lucrative
offshore operation.
The Immigration chief
also noted that the company
has successfully created a
peaceful and conducive environment
for all agencies to
work in LADOL’s industrial
village of international standards.
“I really want to commend
NEPZA, they are doing
well. And I want to appeal to
other government agencies
to also remain focused in
working as a team because
we cannot do it alone, we
need each other. If Immigration
is here and there is no
customs, the work process
would not be complete. And
if there is no Navy, the work
process is also not complete,”
she said.
Amy Jadesimi, managing
director of LADOL,
who commended the Immigration
Service for their
immense support to the
company, said that “we look
forward to many more years
of working successfully and
closely with the government
agencies in LADOL, helping
us to make Nigeria West
Africa’s hub for maritime,
fabrications and oil, gas and
logistics services.