Congestion at Apapa ports to ease 2021 — NIMASA

The excruciating gridlock at Apapa ports will ease significantly by the first quarter of 2021, Dr Bashir Yusuf Jamoh, the National President

The excruciating gridlock at Apapa ports will ease significantly by the first quarter of 2021, Dr Bashir Yusuf Jamoh, the National President and Chairman of Council, the Chartered Institute of Transport Administration of Nigeria (CIOTA) has said.

Dr Jamoh who also doubles as the Director-General Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) said the ports are expected to witness significant de-congestion when the Lagos-Ibadan train service comes into full operation in the first quarter of 2021.

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He stated this at the 2nd National Transport Summit, Annual General Meeting, and Governing Council inauguration held in Abuja. The summit has “Building Sustainable Transport Infrastructure in Nigeria: Opportunities, Innovations and Technologies’, as its theme.

“Before the end of the first quarter 2021, the Lagos to Ibadan rail service should be running fully and that is the solution to the congestion at the Apapa ports.

To complement the rail, he said NIMASA is pursuing full automation to ease operations.

“The issue of digitization of the port operations is key. NIMASA has achieved 85 per cent automation and the Nigerian Shippers Council and the NPA are also achieving huge automation of their services. These, plus other things, will reduce the pressure on the ports,” he explained.

The Executive Secretary, Nigerian Shippers Council, Mr Hassan Bello, said lack of professionalism in the transport industry is leading to stagnation of the industry. He also made a case for inter-connectivity in transportation.