KOREDE FOGO
The executive secretary of the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC), Emmanuel Jime, on Tuesday, said the Lekki deep seaport, will reduce cost of doing business at the nation’s seaport.
Jime, disclosed this, yesterday, at the sideline of the inspection of the Lekki Deep Seaport, Lagos, by President Muhammadu Buhari and other government officials.
He said Lekki port is going to impact tremendously on reducing the cost of doing business, saying the nation’s maritime Sector will have a boost in commercial activities in ways it have never envisaged and experienced before.
“If we cut down time in doing business, that ultimately will save cost and also affects the way we are going to deliver our services. This port is going to impact tremendously on reducing the cost of doing business.”
“We have to understand that because of the draft that we are going to have here at Lekki Seaport and for the first time in out maritime domain, we are going to have the kind of vessels that have never berthed in our ports because of the draft we have in Apapa.”
Also, most of the ports we have in other parts of the country are actually not seaports. This is the first seaport we are having in our country, and from that perspective alone, that gives us the comfort and recognition that as far as the economies of scale, we are going to have a boost in commercial activities in ways that we have never envisaged and experienced before.
“We are at the Shippers council, are indeed very happy to see this port happening and because of the automation and way the port is conceived, businesses will be conducted in a way and manner that is efficient and service delivery will be done in a way that it will cost effective.”
“When you talk about clearing and clearance processes and the delay we are having because of the nature of the human traffic that is engaged in doing business in our port, presently it has a downturn in a way that is affecting efficiency and service delivery, but it is not going to happen here.”
The Shippers’ Council’s boss, also called for the construction of the access road leading to the port, saying, he’s concerned about the mode of cargo evacuation from Lekki port.
“The first point of concern that I have, is perhaps, the method of evacuation of cargoes and how we have not been able to put in place the necessary infrastructure that will allow for quick evacuation from this port.
” For instance, at the moment, the only road leading into this port is the narrow road of which we have all come in and this port is scheduled to start operations in September, but I do not think that the road that is envisaged to service this port would be in place for another two years.
“I am also concerned, about rail linkage. Until we have our rails linked into our port, there is no way we are going to have cargo evacuation in a way that would serve the needs of our businesses in an effective way that it should be done.”
“Right now, it is clear that up to this point, the method of evacuation of cargoes from the ports is through the roads. Over 90 per cent is going through the roads and if you look at the quality of vessels that are involved, it is clear to me that we need to understand very quickly that there is an urgent need to improve on the quality of infrastructure in a way that will actually complement the kind of businesses that this port is going to deliver to the nation,” he said.