Diligent implementation for proposed Bonny, Warri seaports

The minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, announced that President Buhari has approved plans for the building of two new seaports in Bonny, Rivers state, and Warri, Delta state, as part of plans to improve maritime trade in the country. He stated this while speaking on ‘’ Railway Infrastructure: Progress and Plan ‘’ at the 2020 […]

The minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, announced that President Buhari has approved plans for the building of two new seaports in Bonny, Rivers state, and Warri, Delta state, as part of plans to improve maritime trade in the country. He stated this while speaking on ‘’ Railway Infrastructure: Progress and Plan ‘’ at the 2020 national economic outlook in Lagos last week.

The minister’s announcement comes just as the Nigeria Ports Authority moves to divert cargoes meant for the already congested Lagos ports to Port Harcourt and Calabar ports.

We cannot fail to note that Nigeria’s unenviable reputation for having one of the worst port operations in Africa dates back to the 1970s. Indeed we cannot forget the days of the infamous ‘’cement armada’’ when ships laden with cement cargoes stretching miles into the sea waited for weeks to discharge at the Apapa port in Lagos.

Nigeria has thus been overtaken by neighbouring countries as the hub of maritime trade operations in the sub-region. Studies commissioned by business groups indicate that apart from the humongous amount of money lost by Nigeria in this regard, we also lose competitive business edge in terms of the prohibitive cost of importing and exporting goods through our ports comparatively to those countries. Ironically, most of the goods imported and cleared at ports of neighbouring countries are destined to Nigeria.

Although efforts have been made since then to improve port operations in the country by building more ports in Lagos, Port Harcourt, and Calabar, as well as concessioning some of the port operations on a private-public-partnership basis, the problems still persist. At present, both the Apapa and Tin can Island ports in Lagos are experiencing severe congestion with ships waiting for months to discharge their goods.

It is quite baffling that while Lagos ports remain congested as they presently are, the Port Harcourt and Calabar ports have remained largely idle. The moves therefore by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to divert the ships to those ports and the announcement by the minister on the approval to build the two new ports are the right steps in the right direction.

Missing, however, in the minister’s announcements, are the details of the nature of operations at the proposed ports. We note that as Bonny is already the site of oil and gas export operations of major International oil and Gas companies, it would complement their operations if the new port to be established there were of similar operational nature. The proposed one at Warri should serve majorly the haulage needs of the Ajaokuta steel project as well as the Itakpe coal mines.

Going forward, the federal government should also consider ramping up the long held plans to establish inland and container ports. Of particular mention in this regard are the Lokoja, Baro and Onitsha inland ports which will not only decongest and diversify port operations in the country, but also boost economic activities,  and enhance trade and commerce in the country as a whole.

The perennial problems bedevilling port operations in Nigeria can only be resolved when taken from a holistic perspective. First of all, diversification of port operations from Lagos ports to other ports in the country must not be just a temporary measure but should be pursued and diligently implemented on a long term basis . Secondly, ancillary facilities at the ports must be periodically upgraded to aid and improve discharge time by ships at the ports. Thirdly, the ports must be linked by infrastructure like roads and railways for the efficient onward transportation of goods to their various destinations. Fourthly, the bureaucracy at the ports must be drastically reduced. The present situation the ports are inundated by all manner of government agencies claiming to have one supervisory role or another should be discouraged. The only agencies that should be allowed to operate at the ports should be those that have statutorily defined functions necessary to aid, but not impede port operations.