The Nigerian Shippers’ Council has said the final signing of agreement for the Ibadan Dry Port will take place in August (This month).
The Executive Secretary of the NSC, Mr Hassan Bello, said this in Lagos on Tuesday, at the second Transport Leadership Lecture and Kings Leadership Lecture and Awards, organised by kings Communications Limited, publishers of the Money Management Series magazine.
The 40,000 Twenty-Equivalent Unit dry port located at Olorisa-Oko village in the Moniya area of Ibadan, Oyo State was built by a Chinese firm, Cataraman Group, at a reported cost of $99.6m.
“We are going to sign the Ibadan Dry Port agreement in August,” Bello said while delivering a goodwill message at the event, which had the theme, ‘Leadership in a Next Level, Democracy, Striking a Positive Balance in Transport Sector.’
“To remove what is happening at the seaport, we have to have modern dry port,” he said.
He said that the challenges of accessing the Apapa port had been reduced with the rehabilitation of the Wharf/Apapa road, adding that by the time the infrastructure around Liverpool, Tin Can Island and Coconut axis of the seaport is fixed, order would return to the ports.
He said, “But we already have medium and long-term solutions. We have to reform the transport and cargo system. The dwell time of cargo in Nigeria is beyond the regional average.
“We have to tell the government the truth, that there are challenges and government has to create conducive atmosphere because the operating atmosphere is a little bit harsh.
“It is in the interest of everybody. The Nigerian Shippers’ Council will look at the government and say, ‘You have no right to embark on the concession of a Roll-on-Roll-off terminal and in the middle of the business, change the policy of importation’”. He added, “And we have reasons to reduce the guarantee minimum tonnage of one terminal because the conditions for its operations were just not there.
“What we need is equilibrium. We need equal playing field for everybody. That’s why we opposed the oil and gas monopoly in some ports.”
Bello also announced that cargo was being transported to the Kaduna dry port by rail.
