Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority, Mohammed Bello-Koko

Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority NPA, Mohammed Bello-Koko has said that the authority was considering a review of tariff incentives granted shipping lines and other users of port services within the eastern corridor as part of renewed effortsto stimulate activities and patronage of the ports.

Speaking shortly after an infrastructure assessment tour of some of the eastern ports in Onne and Port Harcourt penultimate week, the Managing Director also hinted that plans are underway to establish truck parks as a prelude to the introduction of electronic call-up system code named ‘eto’ for trucks operating within the eastern axis like those in Lagos.

He disclosed that the management gave tariff incentives to shipping lines operating in the area, but regretted that that has not resulted to an increase in the volume of activities in terms of more vessels calling at ports, which has given rise to the need for a review of the incentives in line with the renewed commitment to increase patronage of the ports and reduce the burden on those in Lagos.

“We gave tariff reliefs to shipping lines among others. We haven’t seen as many positive responses as we expected for multiple reasons, we have given incentives at various port locations but there are issues related to the draft limitations along the channels. Bigger vessels cannot come in; we have to dredge those channels, one of those locations is Calabar.

“The reasons for not dredging Calabar channel is because of a subsisting court case restricting NPA from taking any form of action to dredge that channel which was instituted by one of the technical partners to the Joint Venture that NPA is involved in. For Warri, we know what the issues are. The breakwater collapsed over 10 years ago. It has to be reconstructed.

“The breakwater helps to ensure that siltation doesn’t get into the channels, so we are working on those. But we would look at those tariffs given and then reassess them and see if there is a need to amend them to ensure that we get more traffic for the seaports in the eastern corridor””, the MD also assured.

On the proposed introduction of electronic call-up systems for trucks operation at the various port locations in the east, especially Onne Ports Complex in River State, he further disclosed that there is a study being carried out on the project to determine the workability.

He however noted that there is need to establish truck parks in the various locations to ensure that when the call up system is introduced, there will be a park that has proximity to the ports where ttrucks will assemble.

Bello-Koko said: “We are reviewing that and within the first quarter of this year, we believe that it will be introduce to other port locations in the country especially Onne Ports. You can see than in recent months, we have had increase in cargo traffic in Onne, there has been an improvement on the businesses here and there is need for to ensure that what is currently happening in Lagos does not repeat itself here in terms of congestion, the state of the roads, the berths and so on and so forth.

“So we have come here to inspect the Road D, if you recall recently the Federal Executive Council awarded contract for the construction of part of Road D and Road E in Onne Ports. We came here to have a look at Road D, which was initially awarded to a certain company to construct but that company for some reasons has not been on site. There is a need for us to sit down and renegotiate the contract for them to go back to site and start the reconstruction of that road. We also came to look at some of the berths; there is a berth here that has collapsed. We have made provisions for the rehabilitation of that berth in the 2022 budget.

“For the road also, we have made budgetary provisions for the construction of those roads. We have observed that all of a sudden Onne Port is extremely busy and that there are a lot of porous areas where thieves and so on have started coming into the port and we are having minor issues of stripping or stealing of goods inside the containers. There is a need for us to also secure the port from all sides and ensure the safety of import and export goods.”