A collapsed quay apron at the Tin Can Island Ports Complex, Apapa, Lagos.

The Nigerian Ports Authority NPA has said it has obtained necessary approvals to effect a 15per cent upward review in its tariffs, the first in the last 32 years, as part of measures to rev up the country’s seaports’ equipment and infrastructure to boost competitiveness with their peers in the world.

Recall that the last time NPA reviewed its tariffs was in 1993. The 15per cent review, which cuts across all NPA rates and dues, is premised on the urgent need to address the undesirable reality of aged and weak infrastructure, obsolete equipment and slow port capacity expansion, which has continued to diminish the performance and indeed competitiveness of Nigeria’s seaports.

Globally, Port Authorities depend on revenue from operations to stay alive to their responsibilities, which include construction and maintenance of Port infrastructure, dredging of channels, provision of aids for safe navigation, provision of modern marine crafts for efficient harbour services, automation and digitisation of port transactions, port security, energy efficiency and training and retraining of its employees.

Speaking a stakeholders’ forum in Lagos, Managing Director of NPA, Abubakar Dantsoho, represented by Executive Director Marine and Operation, Olalekan Badmus, said the decision of the management to meet with the stakeholders was borne out of desire to carry everyone along.

A stakeholder, Joshua Asanga, who also spoke at the meeting, noted that the review was long overdue, arguing that going by the current rate of inflation, which stands at over 35per cent, NPA tariff is nothing to go by.

He listed port management liabilities such wages, fuel and other areas of expenditure as having been adjusted upwards over the years without a commensurate rise in NPA’s charges for over 30 years

“NPA needs funds for improved port infrastructure, robust ICT for Port Community System, procurement of tug boats and other operational platforms to achieve efficiency”, Asanga said.

Another stakeholder, Demian Ukagu, who also spoke at the event urged the NPA to give attention to the current poor infrastructure and facilities of seaports outside Lagos as well as jetties including the Kirikiri Lighter Terminal and development of other critical port facilities across the country.

He added that NPA rates should be able to cover these cost that would guarantee minimum return on investment and promote sustainable trade.

The stakeholders admitted that existing tariffs were set devoid of capital cost, labour cost, consumables and overhead expenditures needed to run the ports

They also expressed fears that keeping the ports on the old tariff would promote consequences like poor service, inadequate infrastructure, poor remuneration, obsolete critical port facilities, equipment and infrastructure.

Experts have argued that though the review was long overdue, there are several benefits to both the NPA and the stakeholders, which include increased revenue to the Authority to fast track the commencement of actual works on its concluded port reconstruction and modernisation projects.

According to them, review would also provide the necessary guarantees to fund the acquisition and urgent deployment of the Information Communications Technology ICT backbone of the PCS which, is the precursor to the implementation of the National Single Window NSW platform.

“Furthermore, the increased revenue generation arising from the review buoys the Authority’s capacity for critical maintenance works to open up the Eastern Ports for increased vessel and cargo traffic such as the reconstruction of collapsed Escravos breakwaters and challenged aspects of Rivers, Onne and Calabar Ports respectively”, the experts argued.

It would be recalled that the global index of seaport rating and competitiveness, which the international trade community relies on for its choice of countries to do business with, derives its data from how well the aforementioned responsibilities are addressed.

Coming at this period of global economic upheaval and scramble for markets, this belated tariff review borne out of necessity, constitutes a crucial success factor in Nigeria’s quest to win back cargo traffic with its accompanying benefits, which include creating job opportunities that have been lost to neighbouring African countries.

Also, contrary to the popular but erroneous notion that NPA has high port charges compared to its peers, verifiable statistics show that NPA’s tariffs are amongst the lowest in the West and Central African sub-region.

The high incidence of un-receipted costs due to unduly high human interface, bureaucratic bottlenecks, functional overlaps resulting from absence of a Port Community System PCS and its corollary the National Single Window NSW are responsible for this contrived falsehood.