Post by Trade facilitator on Mar 14, 2021 12:24:21 GMT 1
Federal Government To Construct 3 New Deep Seaports – States Why Importers Mostly Use Lagos Ports
The congestion at the Lagos Seaports has become a nightmare for both importers and exporters. The gridlock at the Apapa expressway has defied solution for a very long time despite various actions and policies put in place by the government.
To solve this problem which the government claims was caused by the refusal of importers using other seaports in the country; the FGN is planning to construct three (3) new deep seaports in the country.
Then what are the reasons why importers refused to use other seaports in the country other than Lagos seaports?
The Federal Government said that it has identified insecurity as the main reason why both importers and exporters are reluctant to use other seaports at Port Harcourt, Warri, and Calabar Seaports.
The President, Muhammadu Buhari has recently approved the construction of 3 deep seaports at the following locations in the country: Lekki deep seaport to be completed by next year 2022, Bonny deep seaport, which construction is to commence at the same time with the construction of the Port Harcourt Maiduguri rail line, and the third seaport is the Warri deep seaport.
This information was made available to the nation on Wednesday, February 17th, 2021 by the Minister for Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi when he appeared as a guest of Channels Television programme.
The minister also said that one other reason why Warri and Calabar seaports are not usually available for use is that they are always ceding. This means that the port always gives way, and the government continues to recede it.
The government has decided to construct new seaports to avoid spending money on the receding of those seaports. Also the construction of these seaports will help in decongesting the Lagos seaports.
The minister reiterated that the major problem the government has with congestion is that there is a high level of insecurity at the sea; he said that the government is addressing that.
He said that they are having a battle with private interests that have captured security contracts from several government agencies, private investors, or private companies that deal with maritime.
The government has now said that it wants part of the water and has put up a security infrastructure, which will protect the water from the beginning to the end of the national waterways, and they are fighting back.
It is interesting to note that as the government has done the first thing which is to address the issue of insecurity in our waterways, importers from Onitsha, Aba, and other nearby states will start using Port Harcourt, Warri or Calabar seaports.
To show the seriousness of the matter, the government has also given permission to construct another deep seaport at Bonny, according to the Minister, efforts are being made to secure the land for the project.
From the foregoing, it means that the construction and take off of these three (3) new seaports will highly reduce the pressure that the Lagos seaports are facing currently, and also the congestion around the port facilities will subside.
The ease of doing business in Lagos by both importers and exporters had been anything but good. The exporters had been complaining of extra costs they have been incurring due to these problems caused by port congestion.
You can imagine how funny it will sound to the ears of any investor planning to come to invest in Nigeria when he hears that it costs about $4, 000 to truck goods from the ports around Lagos, this is the same amount it costs to ship containers from China to Nigeria.
When these actions are taken, and all the remaining maritime problems are sorted out, import and export businesses will become easier to do in Lagos and Nigeria in General.
The congestion at the Lagos Seaports has become a nightmare for both importers and exporters. The gridlock at the Apapa expressway has defied solution for a very long time despite various actions and policies put in place by the government.
To solve this problem which the government claims was caused by the refusal of importers using other seaports in the country; the FGN is planning to construct three (3) new deep seaports in the country.
Then what are the reasons why importers refused to use other seaports in the country other than Lagos seaports?
The Federal Government said that it has identified insecurity as the main reason why both importers and exporters are reluctant to use other seaports at Port Harcourt, Warri, and Calabar Seaports.
The President, Muhammadu Buhari has recently approved the construction of 3 deep seaports at the following locations in the country: Lekki deep seaport to be completed by next year 2022, Bonny deep seaport, which construction is to commence at the same time with the construction of the Port Harcourt Maiduguri rail line, and the third seaport is the Warri deep seaport.
This information was made available to the nation on Wednesday, February 17th, 2021 by the Minister for Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi when he appeared as a guest of Channels Television programme.
The minister also said that one other reason why Warri and Calabar seaports are not usually available for use is that they are always ceding. This means that the port always gives way, and the government continues to recede it.
The government has decided to construct new seaports to avoid spending money on the receding of those seaports. Also the construction of these seaports will help in decongesting the Lagos seaports.
The minister reiterated that the major problem the government has with congestion is that there is a high level of insecurity at the sea; he said that the government is addressing that.
He said that they are having a battle with private interests that have captured security contracts from several government agencies, private investors, or private companies that deal with maritime.
The government has now said that it wants part of the water and has put up a security infrastructure, which will protect the water from the beginning to the end of the national waterways, and they are fighting back.
It is interesting to note that as the government has done the first thing which is to address the issue of insecurity in our waterways, importers from Onitsha, Aba, and other nearby states will start using Port Harcourt, Warri or Calabar seaports.
To show the seriousness of the matter, the government has also given permission to construct another deep seaport at Bonny, according to the Minister, efforts are being made to secure the land for the project.
From the foregoing, it means that the construction and take off of these three (3) new seaports will highly reduce the pressure that the Lagos seaports are facing currently, and also the congestion around the port facilities will subside.
The ease of doing business in Lagos by both importers and exporters had been anything but good. The exporters had been complaining of extra costs they have been incurring due to these problems caused by port congestion.
You can imagine how funny it will sound to the ears of any investor planning to come to invest in Nigeria when he hears that it costs about $4, 000 to truck goods from the ports around Lagos, this is the same amount it costs to ship containers from China to Nigeria.
When these actions are taken, and all the remaining maritime problems are sorted out, import and export businesses will become easier to do in Lagos and Nigeria in General.
