Govt to float dry ports in Osun, others

Three new Inland Container Depots (ICDs) are to be established in addition to the six that are waiting to be declared and dedicated as ports of destination and origin for cargoes by the Federal Government, DGossip247 reports

The Nigerian Shippers’ Council has resolved to establish dry ports in Osun, Anambra and Kebbi states. It was learnt that the gazette for the declaration of the ICDs as full fledge ports is before The Presidency. The plan to create the dry ports was based on requests by shippers from those areas through applications to the council. The ICDs, which will be sited at Onitsha, Lolo in Kebbi State and Dagbolu in Osun State will be on Public, Private Partnership (PPP) basis.

Dry port

The dry port or inland container depot is a common user facility with public authority status. It is equipped with fixed installations and offer services for handling and temporary storage of import/export laden and empty containers carried under Customs control and other agencies competent to clear goods for home use, warehousing, temporary admissions, re-export, temporary storage for onward transit and outright export. Trans shipment of cargo can also take place from such facilities. It is the equivalent of a seaport located in the hinterland and receives containers by rail from the seaport for examination and clearance by Customs. It has all the loading and non-loading equipment needed to handle container cargo.

Genesis of dry port

The dry port was first introduced in 1979 when the then Elder Dempster Lines led other members of the United Kingdom West Africa Liner Conference (UKWAL) and teamed up with the National Insurance Corporation (NICON) to establish an ICD in Kano under the management of Inland Container Nigeria Limited (ICNL) and another one in 2006, which was gazetted in the Federal Republic of Nigeria Official Gazette No. 30 volume 94 of May 21, 2007, but up till now only the one in Kano State is working partially.

Advantages

Executive Secretary of the council, Hassan Bello, a lawyer, explained that government had mulled the declaration of six others as full fledge ports because of their advantages. He noted that the idea to establish dry ports in the country was to bring shipping services to the doorsteps of shippers, assist in decongesting the seaports and make them more user-friendly. It would help revive and modernise the railway system as a primary mode for long distance haulage of cargo and assist in the reduction of overall cost of cargo. Bello said: “It is the long-term solution to port congestion in the sense that cargoes could be assigned to these ports through bill of laden. The cargoes will be transported mostly by train to these ports where they will be examined for customs duties and other duties payment, instead of doing that at the seaports. “This will reduce the perennial congestion at the ports, and it will also bring shipping to the doorstep of shippers. Most importantly, it will reduce the cost of transportation.”

ICDs and concessionaires

The dry ports are located in Ibadan, (Oyo State), Isiala Ngwa, (Abia State), Jos Heipang, (Plateau State), Bulunkutu, (Borno State), Zawachiki, (Kano State) and Zanfarawa- Funtua, (Katsina State). Their preferred concessionaires include the Eastgate Inland Container Terminals Limited, whose depot is located in Isiala- Ngwa, Aba, Abia State, with capacity of 50,000 Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit (TEU) of Container; Catamaran Logistics Limited in Ibadan, Oyo State with 50,000 TEU; and Dala Inland Dry Port Limited, located in Kano with 20,000 TEU. Others are Duncan Maritime Services in Jos, Plateau State, with 20,000 TEU capacity; Equatorial Marine Nigeria Limited, Funtua, with 10,000 TEU and Migfo Nigeria Limited, Maiduguri, with 10,000 TEU.

Port of destination

The executive secretary explained that the council had reached a stage where the ICDs would now be designated as port of origin and port of destination. He noted that the request for such designation was before Mr. President. “The moment these ports are so declared you will see increased activities. Many people are clamouring to start these port operations, but we are looking for the right legal framework for them to come alive. The dry ports are located in Ibadan, Isiala Ngwa in Aba, Kano, Jos, Funtua and Maiduguri respectively,” he stressed.

Implementation committee

In 2006, an ICD Implementation Committee was established with the Nigerian Shippers’ Council as the implementing agency. It was saddled with the supervision and monitoring of the project on behalf of the Federal Government. The project is being implemented on the Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) basis. They are expected to operate the facility for 25 years, after which they transfer ownership to the Federal Government. The model also requires the Federal Government to provide land free of all encumbrances to the operators who are also given some tax and other incentives. Scanning and computerisation system and procedures for clearing of cargo will be the same in the ICDs as they are at exhibiting ports.

Challenges

However, the Lagos Shippers’ Association has expressed fear that the dry ports may not solve the challenges of port operation in the country. Its president, Rev. Jonathan Nicole, said that the dry port could only function if the railway was revived. Nicole said: “The dry ports can only function if you have the railway. If you take 10 containers to Ibadan, for instance, and the cost of doing business there is higher than using the road, if the ICD’s are more expensive, of course the importer will prefer to clear his goods in Lagos.”