Post by Trade facilitator on May 25, 2020 20:43:11 GMT 1
•COVID-19 offers a golden chance to turn challenges to opportunities
COVID-19 presaged a lockdown, snowballing into a meltdown, en route to a near-total breakdown of Nigeria’s port operations; with devastating effects on the economy.
But thanks to the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), the port economic regulators, in concert with the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) management and private sector players at the ports complexes, West and East, the emerging picture appears a multi-modal thinking to port operations, after this crippling global pandemic season.
Shaped by COVID-19 emergency, it would appear a classic case of turning challenges into opportunities. But it’s early days yet. A lot still has to be done to further sharpen this new vision, if the ports must play effective roles in re-launching the Nigerian economy, after the near-paralysis of COVID-19.
The new vision is basically three-fold: unleash IT to organise port players, government regulatory agencies, revenue-collecting agencies and sundry stakeholders into a virtual community, enjoying seamless operations; stress a multi-modal cargo evacuation process, through rail, road and inland waterways, and make the ports operational everyday of the year, including weekends and public holidays.
A virtual port community, effectively linked, is essential, nay imperative, to reduce port congestion. Since you could, from your computer, phone or other electronic devices, monitor your exact business time, you won’t just stray into the ports complex, causing avoidable congestion. That might offer a long-term solution to cargo-bearing truckers and trailers, that often clog Lagos roads, becoming a menace and a nuisance to other road users.
Still post-COVID-19, the most exciting prospects, operation-wise, would appear the aggressive push to evacuate cargo by rail and waterways; and break the present near-monopoly of road, with its all-too-clear limitations and stress.
It is especially heart-warming that the NSC, to make the ports running during the COVID-19 lockdown, midwifed deals with barge-operating companies, to evacuate cargo to sister ports, like Warri and Port Harcourt.
Though the volume would still appear comparatively small, pending the return to full port activities, it’s a crucial growth area that makes busier ports outside Lagos. It’s a new opportunity that puts more money in the pocket of private operators, as well as in government coffers. It is also a boon to youth employment, in the new business areas.
But while that arrangement worked with little or no hitch at Warri, Delta State, it ran into the politics of COVID-19 lockdown at Port Harcourt, Rivers State. That necessitated the shippers council to ease matters with the Rivers State authorities, with limited success. Still, post-COVID-19, with the expected business upsurge, this new inter-Nigerian ports barge cargo transit can only bloom to its full potential, other things being equal.
That the port economic regulators also pushed a more aggressive rail evacuation deal with the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), and also persuaded truckers, in tune with the COVID-19 rather slow business season, was a salute to emergency-time business diplomacy.
But again, it’s early days yet, especially in the renewed rail endeavour. The subsisting deal only deepened business on the old narrow-gauge. The real boom would come when the new Lagos-Ibadan-Kano standard gauge powers into full rail operations, right from the Apapa Ports to other parts of the country.
With full rail cargo service, the highways would bear less traffic and last longer; and more liquid cargo, as the highly combustible petroleum products, would be moved by rail. As a result, there probably would be far less road crashes and expressway auto blazes. That is why the NSC must keep on engaging the NRC, even as the contractors put finishing touches to the port end of the new standard-gauge rail.
Aside from putting in place logistics to provide access by players into the Lagos ports, at the height of the lockdown, the shippers’ council also went to a great length to ensure COVID-19 safety protocols among the port operators, aside from rousing the port-operating government agencies, to work together, with little or no disruption.
This is no time to stop, especially on the health and safety regulation front. From all indications, COVID-19 won’t go away soon. Yet, the ports operations will steadily expand, until it reaches its pre-COVID-19 peak.
The NSC must, therefore, continue to play the ports health coordinating sheriff, to ensure the ports are no bastions of community transmission of the virus.
Source: thenationonlineng.net/port-operations/
COVID-19 presaged a lockdown, snowballing into a meltdown, en route to a near-total breakdown of Nigeria’s port operations; with devastating effects on the economy.
But thanks to the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), the port economic regulators, in concert with the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) management and private sector players at the ports complexes, West and East, the emerging picture appears a multi-modal thinking to port operations, after this crippling global pandemic season.
Shaped by COVID-19 emergency, it would appear a classic case of turning challenges into opportunities. But it’s early days yet. A lot still has to be done to further sharpen this new vision, if the ports must play effective roles in re-launching the Nigerian economy, after the near-paralysis of COVID-19.
The new vision is basically three-fold: unleash IT to organise port players, government regulatory agencies, revenue-collecting agencies and sundry stakeholders into a virtual community, enjoying seamless operations; stress a multi-modal cargo evacuation process, through rail, road and inland waterways, and make the ports operational everyday of the year, including weekends and public holidays.
A virtual port community, effectively linked, is essential, nay imperative, to reduce port congestion. Since you could, from your computer, phone or other electronic devices, monitor your exact business time, you won’t just stray into the ports complex, causing avoidable congestion. That might offer a long-term solution to cargo-bearing truckers and trailers, that often clog Lagos roads, becoming a menace and a nuisance to other road users.
Still post-COVID-19, the most exciting prospects, operation-wise, would appear the aggressive push to evacuate cargo by rail and waterways; and break the present near-monopoly of road, with its all-too-clear limitations and stress.
It is especially heart-warming that the NSC, to make the ports running during the COVID-19 lockdown, midwifed deals with barge-operating companies, to evacuate cargo to sister ports, like Warri and Port Harcourt.
Though the volume would still appear comparatively small, pending the return to full port activities, it’s a crucial growth area that makes busier ports outside Lagos. It’s a new opportunity that puts more money in the pocket of private operators, as well as in government coffers. It is also a boon to youth employment, in the new business areas.
But while that arrangement worked with little or no hitch at Warri, Delta State, it ran into the politics of COVID-19 lockdown at Port Harcourt, Rivers State. That necessitated the shippers council to ease matters with the Rivers State authorities, with limited success. Still, post-COVID-19, with the expected business upsurge, this new inter-Nigerian ports barge cargo transit can only bloom to its full potential, other things being equal.
That the port economic regulators also pushed a more aggressive rail evacuation deal with the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), and also persuaded truckers, in tune with the COVID-19 rather slow business season, was a salute to emergency-time business diplomacy.
But again, it’s early days yet, especially in the renewed rail endeavour. The subsisting deal only deepened business on the old narrow-gauge. The real boom would come when the new Lagos-Ibadan-Kano standard gauge powers into full rail operations, right from the Apapa Ports to other parts of the country.
With full rail cargo service, the highways would bear less traffic and last longer; and more liquid cargo, as the highly combustible petroleum products, would be moved by rail. As a result, there probably would be far less road crashes and expressway auto blazes. That is why the NSC must keep on engaging the NRC, even as the contractors put finishing touches to the port end of the new standard-gauge rail.
Aside from putting in place logistics to provide access by players into the Lagos ports, at the height of the lockdown, the shippers’ council also went to a great length to ensure COVID-19 safety protocols among the port operators, aside from rousing the port-operating government agencies, to work together, with little or no disruption.
This is no time to stop, especially on the health and safety regulation front. From all indications, COVID-19 won’t go away soon. Yet, the ports operations will steadily expand, until it reaches its pre-COVID-19 peak.
The NSC must, therefore, continue to play the ports health coordinating sheriff, to ensure the ports are no bastions of community transmission of the virus.
Source: thenationonlineng.net/port-operations/
