IMF visits Nigeria Ports, laments absence of single window, scanners, others

THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) has identified absence of National Single Window Platform, absence of scanning machines for customs operations as well as poor logistics and road infrastructures as the bane of Nigerian ports.

IMF Mission chief and …… President, Representative for Nigerian African Department, Mr. Amine Mati stated this recently when he took a tour of Nigerian Ports as part of compilation and publication of the IMF Economic Outlook Review for 2020.

The IMF team were hosted by the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, Barrister Hassan Bello. They took a tour of three Nigerian Ports – APM Terminals, Greenview Development Terminal (GDNL) owned by Dangote Operations and PTML, Terminals.

Speaking at the end of the tour, Mr. Amine Mati disclosed that the delegation from IMF were on the visit to inspect the port activities and determine the challenges, the priorities and policies put in place by the federal government.

His words: “We were able to discuss the port congestion and noted that the clearance time still remains challenging, we are trying to determine the different polices and priorities put in place by the federal government.

He said: “We were able to discuss the port congestion and noted that the clearance time still remains challenging, we are trying to determine the different polices and priorities put in place, particularly the scanners, national Single Window is very important to accelerate the process, the roads  outside the port is also important for efficiency increase.”

Expatiating further, he said “As trade is picking up the port is an important aspect of Nigerian economy, particularly in Lagos where the activity is.”

Speaking earlier while receiving the IMF Chief, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, Barrister Hassan Bello said the IMF Economic Outlook review is very important to Nigeria especially now that the country is facing economic challenges for diversification of source of revenue.

Bello described Nigerian ports as major port in North and Central African sub-region and it is the largest economy in Africa stressing that Nigerian ports attracts 40-60 per cent of the cargo in the sub region.

He however, lamented that twelve years after the ports were concessioned to private operators, there is still lack of efficiency at the ports.

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He however, assured that the Shippers’ Council is however, working with the shipping companies to reduce the cost to about 30 per cent and that both parties will soon go into argreement.

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He said that for now, there is still 100 per cent cargo examination going on at the ports due to lack of scanners in the ports. He however, assured that by second quarter of the year all these challenges will be addressed.

His words: “We are trying to build  first of all, a Port Community System so that we will have operational synergy and then of course National Single Window which is the simplification of all processes, we need to be open and transparent, we have to reduce it further, we want to attract more cargoes here, not only for imports, but also for exports and that is the whole issue.”

Recently, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) made a pledge to make the maritime sector competitive.

According to the managing director, NPA has the intention of making the nation’s maritime sector more competitive and a hub in the sub region stressing that the authority was working to reduce dwell time of cargo at the ports and embrace multi-modal transportation through the use of locomotive trains and barges.

Bala-Usman said that the multimodal transportation would also help in the evacuation of cargoes in and out of the ports to the hinterlands.

Over 95 per cent of the cargoes coming into the ports are taken through trucks and that is not efficient.

“There must be multimodal means of transportation to include trains and barges in order to reduce congestion and we are working towards this,” she said.

This no doubt will also meet the IMF conditions as it will accelerate the movement of cargo out of the ports and further reduce the dwell time of cargoes in the ports.