The Dala Inland Dry Port IDP Nigeria Limited, located in Kano State has said it is poised to providing great reliefs to the Lagos Ports Complex and Tin Can Island Ports, both in Lagos and the Port Harcourt and Onne Ports in River State, especially in terms of reducing congestion at the major conventional seaports in the country.

Dala IDP, located in the Zawachiki area of Kano, is a designated Port of origin and Destination and was commissioned by President Muhammadu Buhari on January 31, 2023, it commenced full operation in May, 2023. Equipped with state-of-the-art cargo handling equipment, the DALA IDP has a holding capacity of 200, 000 twenty equivalent units TEUs and has been designated as a port with Special Integrated Economic Zone.

Speaking in an interview at the side lines of the just concluded International Customs Day, held in Lagos, Friday, Managing Director of the port, Ahmed Rabiu, disclosed that the Dala Port was gearing towards providing the much needed support and relief to the conventional seaports in Lagos and River States, particularly in terms, of addressing the persistent port congestion and thus bringing shipping services to the hinterlands.

He disclosed that the IDP, which main focus is on export cargo, especially agro and allied produce, was confronted with an initial lull in business activities and volumes after its take-off last year, which he also said was normal with start-ups and novel ventures. He however disclosed that activities have since picked up, which is an indication that the IDP is now positioned to play its traditional role of reducing pressure on existing conventional seaports and bring shipping services to shippers in the hinterlands.

The MD assured that as a port of origin and destination, which is directly connected to the APM Apapa Terminals, Lagos by rail, the IDP has everything it takes to function optimally in providing shipping services not only to the hinterlands of the country, but also to landlocked neighbouring African countries such as Niger, Chad, and Republic of Benin.

“We were not able to operate to the limit that we projected last year because we’re new and secondly due to a lot of teething challenges normally associated with new start-ups and novel outings. It was very low not as we expected and not worthy of mention but this year, things have started coming in a great way and we’re being patronised particularly for exports.

“We’re hopeful that in the course of the next three months, we’re going to provide a great lift to Apapa, Tin Can Island, Port Harcourt and Onne Ports. As a port of origin and destination, cargoes meant for our facility will be transferred without going through the process of Customs examination and clearance to their final destinations abroad, thereby making things easy for everybody.

“You know we’re connected by rail straight to the APMT, Apapa and everybody is enjoying the services because it is cheaper, efficient and more importantly, it is faster because there are no stop-overs, no toll points and we’re linked to APMT directly”, Rabiu said.

It was further gathered that following its commencement of full operations, the company handled its first export containers in May last year, which started their journey from the IDP directly to the APMT, Apapa and down to Europe their final destination as the seal of the containers were not broken since the IDP has the status of a port of origin and destination just like any of the other seaports.

The MD noted that with the successful shipment of the containers, the cargo owners were saved the trouble of coming down to Lagos or Port Harcourt, a development that makes it imperative for shippers to patronise the IDPs, which is a way of helping everybody and Nigeria’s economy at large.

Recall that the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adeqboyega had while speaking at the event, hosted by the Nigeria Customs Service, called on cargo owners to patronise the IDPs as a way of helping to decongest the existing conventional seaports and equally reduce the pressure on the roads.

“I appreciate the statement by the Minister and this is also a statement of fact that when there is a spread of activities of the IDPs, everybody will benefit and it will be a win-win situation. The IDPs were established largely to decongest the seaports, improve the gridlocks in Apapa, Tin Can Ports and all around the places, which are caused due to the over-concentration of activities in one port.

“When a cargo is imported, it is expected to go through Customs and security clearance and all these processes take time and what one ship alone brings is what about 1, 000 trucks will carry, so that is why all the Customs and security clearance are done at the IDPs when the cargo is transferred there and everybody benefits from it-those in the hinterland and those in the coastal cities of Lagos, Port Harcourt and Onne also benefit.”, Rabiu further argued.