The Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) has listed lack of funds and availability of land as major factors affecting the takeoff of Inland Dry Ports across the country.
This is as the Buhari administration has shown renewed interest and vigour to ensure that all concession projects are implemented and ready to operate in the country.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), this disclosure was made by the Deputy Director, Public-Private Partnership, NSC, Mallam Mustapha Zubairu, on Thursday, June 3, 2021, in Lagos.
The deputy director said that the Ibadan project was under negotiation and would very soon have a concessionaire, with approval for operation to commence, while he said that the Funtua project has gone far.
Zubairu said that the Funtua project has gone far with an appreciable level of deployment being attained particularly on infrastructure. He noted that various aspects of the project, parameter fencing and gate have attained different levels of completion.
He said that insurgency had affected the commencement of the project in the Maiduguri area while noting that the land issue had remained the most critical aspect affecting the project in Abia.
The Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) agreement was signed on May 16, 2006, between the Federal Government and the concessionaires to establish Inland dry ports, otherwise known as Inland Container Deports (ICD’s) or Containers Freight Stations (CFS).
The locations for the Inland Container Depot include Isiala Ngwa in Aba; Erunmu in Ibadan; Heipang in Jos; Zawachiki in Kano; Zamfarawa in Funtua; Jauri in Maiduguri and ICNL in Kaduna.
The port was meant to bring services to the doorsteps of shippers across the nation, assist in decongesting the seaports as well as assist in overall costs of cargo to the hinterland and other locations.
