BusinessDay 31 Oct 2017

2 BUSINESS DAY C002D5556
Tuesday 31 October 2017
NEWS
‘Trucks banned from coming to Apapa by year-end’
... as FG plans cargo movement by rail to Papalanto, Ogun
AMAKA ANAGOR-EWUZIE
Respite may have
come the way of
businesses and
residents of Apapa
Port city, as the Federal Government
concludes plan to
commence movement of
cargoes, especially containers
intended for warehouses
belonging to Lagos-based
importers, from Apapa Port
by rail to Papalanto in Ogun
State.
The plan, according to
the government, is meant to
reduce the number of trucks
queuing on the already bad
Apapa roads, reduce the
volume of gridlock and manhour
loss on the roads as well
as limit the travel time on the
Apapa Port roads, notorious
for heavy traffic problems.
Speaking in Lagos on
Monday at the event marking
the 2017 World Maritime Day
celebration with the theme,
“Connecting Ships, Ports and
People,” Chibuike Amaechi,
minister of transportation,
who made the disclosure,
said the Lagos- Kano narrow
gauge would become
operational before the end
of December 2017, because
the Federal Government was
determined to move cargo
by rail to reduce pressure on
the roads.
“All cargo for Lagos would
be discharged at Papalanto
with train, while trucks would
go to Papalanto to take delivery
of the consignment.
Other cargoes like those going
to Kano would be conveyed
to Kano directly by
rail,” Amaechi said.
Amaechi, who acknowledged
the fact that the narrow
gauge might not work
efficiently, said movement
of cargo by rail would start
as scheduled as the Federal
Government would be taking
delivery of 100 new wagons
and six new locomotives
before December.
“Our aim is to reduce the
time spent by importers in
the ports to clear their consignments
because we know
that the bad state of the road
appear to be a major problem,”
he said.
The minister further disclosed
that earlier plans by
General Electric (GE) to start
container shuttling by rail
from Apapa Port to Ebute-
Emeta would no longer work,
as that would move massive
traffic volume from Apapa to
Ebute-Emeta, which would
not solve the problem.
“Initially, GE was to start
container shuttling by railway
from Apapa to Ebute-Meta
so that trucks can be picking
the containers to importers’
warehouses, but we said that
would not work because the
number of trucks I saw on
the road yesterday (Sunday)
would mean massive movement
of trucks from Apapa
to Ebute-Meta,” the minister
said.
He however stated that
the proposed container shuttling
from Apapa Port to Papalanto
would start by the
end of December, saying,
“It is a project that would
be executed by the Federal
Ministry of Transportation in
partnership with the Nigerian
Ports Authority (NPA) and
Nigerian Railway Corporation
(NRC).”
Recall that APM Terminals
Apapa Limited, the concessionaire
of the Apapa
container terminal, had in
2013 restored the rail line
leading into the Apapa Port
to effectively connect to the
hinterlands.
Reacting to this, Tony
Anakebe, managing director
of Gold-Link Investment
Limited, a clearing forwarding
company, observed that
moving in and out of the
ports in Lagos had become
a nightmare due to the bad
state of roads leading to the
ports, and commended the
Federal Government for the
new initiative to decongest
Apapa.
“The entire system has
become totally dysfunctional
such that delivery of empty
containers and the evacuation
of cargo have become
a terrifying experience. This
plan is in response to the
urgent need to revive the rail
system for the purpose of
evacuating both containers
and petroleum products,
especially from Lagos ports
that are already congested,”
he stated.
Anakebe further disclosed
that charges by haulage vehicles
had increased astronomically
because of the
long travel time and poor
turnaround time resulting
from the slow pace of cargo
evacuation from the ports.
This is taking a toll on the
private sector and the entire
economy at large, owing to
the frequent loss and cargo
damage caused by fallen
containers on transit.
FG signs 3-year $195m maritime
security contract with Israeli firm
AMAKA ANAGOR-EWUZIE
Federal Government
said on Monday that
it had entered into a
three-year contract
with an Israeli firm to manage
and secure Nigerian
waterways against pirate
activities and sea robbers.
The agreement, which
has $195 million financial
obligation on the Nigerian
government, will also involve
the training of Nigerian
security personnel drawn
from Nigerian Navy, Nigerian
Army and Nigerian Police
by the Israeli company, and
is expected to take-off this
December.
Chibuike Amaechi, minister
of transportation, who
disclosed this during the
2017 World Maritime Day
celebration held in Lagos on
Monday, said the contract
became imperative owing
to the huge amount shipping
firms pay for security escort
on Nigerian waterways.
“Currently, Maersk said
they spend between $15
million and $18 million annually
to pay those escorting
their vessels from one point
to another on our waterways.
We should be able to deflate
that by next year so that peo-
ple can do their businesses
on our waterways without
any fear of being attacked or
harassed,” he said.
According to the minister,
“We have mandated a
consulting firm to do a study
of the maritime sector, and
they will round off in nine
months. They have already
done between three and
four months, and we are
expecting them to submit
an interim report on their
findings.
“One of the burning issues
in the maritime sector is
security. But in the next three
years, the Israeli firm will
train our security operatives
for them to take over after
the expiration of the contract.
They are yet to launch
because they are still buying
the equipment. When you
see the equipment’s on the
waterways, people will know
they are safe and secured to
do their businesses.”
He said that Mr. President
had approved the contract
and is being done through
the Nigerian Maritime Administration
and Safety
Agency (NIMASA). “The Israelis
has assured us that after
the training of our security
operatives, such harassment
and attacks on our waterways
will not happen again.