Nigerian Shippers’ Council Sets To Makes History; Commissions Kaduna Inland Dry Port, Thursday

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…As ICRC seeks collaboration with Shippers’ Council to fund dry ports’ projects***

 

If all things been equal on the side of preparations, Nigeria may finally inaugurate the country’s first Inland Dry Port in Kakuri, Kaduna State on Thursday. The said inland dry port is idea of barrister Hassan Bello, The Executive Secretary of Nigerian Shipper’s Council.

According to Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) Director, Special Duties, Mr Ignatius Nweke stated this in Abuja on Monday, noting the dry port as an inland intermodal terminal directly connected by road, rail and air to a sea port and which would operate as a centre for trans-shipment of sea cargo to inland destinations.

“It is also estimated to generate no fewer than 5,000 direct employment at the commencement of operations”, Nweke disclosed further, adding that the port, which was built by Kaduna Inland Dry Port Limited, was among the seven being promoted by the council.

The port has capacity to handle 29,000 tonnes of cargoes yearly at the first phase of operation and likely to double when fully completed, he noted.

“The Kaduna Dry Port, which is the first of its kind in Nigeria, would receive cargo from Apapa Port in Lagos, through the railway or by road and also export goods through the same channel,” he explained.

Nweke said the idea of establishing Inland Container Depots in the hinterland was informed by the need to reduce the congestion in Lagos ports and provide relief for the busy Apapa road, stressing that when inaugurated, it would provide an easy process for the exportation of farm produce from the Kaduna and neighboring states as well as landlocked countries.

The director who noted that Kaduna State was the largest producer of ginger in the country, maintained that the new port would provide the desired opportunity for exportation of ginger, alongside other processed agricultural produce to other countries.

He opined that the market for Kaduna ginger would improve tremendously, once the dry port commenced full operations on Thursday, as the Dry Port will also boost the exportation of the produce and others such as hibiscus, sesame seed, Shea Butter to China, Singapore, America, UK and other countries where agricultural products are in high demand.

He said the council would fully support the Kaduna port to achieve its employment creation and revenue generation initiatives.

Nweke outline the activities of the day to be as follows, the Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, will be the host while Gov. Nasir El-Rufai will be the Chief Host.

He mentioned other locations were dry ports were being established.

“There are Isiala Ngwa (Abia); Erunmu, Ibadan (Oyo State); Heipang (Plateau); Zawachiki (Kano State); Zamfarawa, Funtua (Katsina State) and Maiduguri (Borno),” he said.

Meanwhile, the Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission (ICRC) is seeking a collaboration with the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) to make Inland Dry Ports (IDPs) bankable and attractive to more concessionaires.

Amehnews online excerpts the story of the Acting Director-General of ICRC, Mr Chidi IKingsley zuwah, from the latest publication of the Council entitled “The Shipper’’.

“There are six (6) approved locations for the Inland Container Depots (ICDs) / Container Freight Stations (CFSs), which had been concessioned to private sector operators by the Federal Ministry of Transportation.”

Izuwah said that if the IDP was bankable, it would attract the right level of financing from lenders and make them viable.

He said that both the council and the Federal Ministry of Transportation were determined to make the IDP project successful.

According to him, IDPs are included in the National Economic Recovery and Growth Plan because the fastest way to increase such capacity in any country is to build dry ports.

“The IDPs will build industries around them because it is about transport and those area they are located will develop and grow our Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

“The government is working very hard. We have to face the reality, building a rail is expensive and takes time.

“The existing narrow gauge lines transverse our country very well and government is in the process of concessioning that narrow gauge lines to General Electric to provide freight services.,’’ he said.

According to him, presently many of the IDPs are located near the rail lines, so it is just to put a siding.

“The one in Isiala Ngwa, Kaduna and Jos are near the rail and the next thing is to provide people who can operate the system,’’ he said.

Izuwah, who said that many people had good intentions, added that they were not able to appreciate what they needed to do in terms of preparation to develop the IDP project.

He said that the feasibility studies for the licensed IDPs were not properly done, stressing that there was no proper due diligence in terms of the promoters.

According to him, for one to have a dry port, one needs to have good connectivity between the ports and the IDPs.

“In Malaysia and in the Far East, they use IDPs in a standard process. The only thing they do at the ports is vessel handling.

“They do not clear goods at the ports, the container will just leave the vessel on the land and the vessel will go away and they move the containers to the IDPs.

“It is at the IDPs that the owner of the consignments will do Customs formalities and clear the goods.

“Also the Inland Dry Ports are points of origin and destination,” Izuwah said.

According to him, some of the processes required for establishing IDPs were not done properly; that was why the ICRC wanted to work with the Shippers’ Council to plug those gaps and make them bankable.

The NSC is saddled with the establishment of Inland Container Depots (ICDs) or IDPs under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiative in the country.


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