CONGESTION: How Massive Imports Of Road Construction Equipment Overrun Lagos Ports
By Roland Ekama
Nigeria’s seaports, especially terminals in Lagos, are groaning under an unprecedented influx of heavy construction equipment and project cargo, DAILY FOCUS NIGERIA can reveal.
Massive consignments of caterpillars, excavators and other heavy-duty vehicles — largely linked to Chinese contractors such as CCECC, Hi Tech, Dangote and BUA — have swamped terminals and pushed port capacity to a breaking point.
DAILY FOCUS NIGERIA correspondents sighted mountains of project cargo at ENL, Five Star Logistics Terminal, PTML, Ports and Cargo Service Limited and Eko Support Services Limited.
With terminals visibly overcapacity and supply chains strained, stakeholders say immediate intervention is needed to prevent the congestion from crippling commerce and delaying the nation’s flagship projects.
Observers say the surge is driven by major infrastructure projects — notably the Lagos-Calabar coastal road and the Badagry–Sokoto corridor — which are funneling an extraordinary volume of oversized equipment through Nigeria’s ports.
Transporters report skyrocketing haulage prices as the cost of moving equipment along already clogged routes surges. Calls are growing for urgent policy fixes:
Observers further called on management of the Nigerian Ports Authority NPA to find lasting solutions to the current congestion at the seaports over the ripple effects.
Industry sources warn the situation has escalated beyond typical port delays. “All the terminals are flooded with construction equipment,” said Chief Michael Orobosa Ubogu, MD/CEO of Micura Services Limited, who added that vessel calls and cargo throughput over the past year have outstripped the previous three years combined. The result: severe overstretch of terminal capacity and chronic traffic jams along port corridors.
According to him, there is an increase in the volume of vessels coming to Nigeria.
He said cargo throughput has been overstretch which has led to the traffic along the port corridors.
Ubogu maintained that the throughout recorded in the last one year has surpassed what was recorded in the last three years put together.
Despite the Strait of Hormuz crisis , the stevedoring expert explained that volume of throughput in Nigeria seaports has not witnessed any form of delays or drop of general cargoes in terms of vessel calling at the ports
Indigenous freight operators say the strain is compounded by shipping-line practices.
Alhaji Babatunde Abdulazeez Mikhail, MD/CEO of Mickey Excellency Nigeria Limited, accused carriers of failing to provide capacity for empty containers, forcing costly and chaotic returns to mother ports and worsening corridor congestion.
He also lamented that indigenous freight forwarders and customs brokers are being shut out of lucrative cargo clearances, with foreign agents reportedly hired to manage large project consignments.
The former ANLCA secretary-general singled out Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) for creating an “artificial” logjam, arguing the visible traffic is a direct result of shipping-line capacity shortfalls.
Alhaji Lawal Hammed, MD of All Round Cargo Company, urged the government to review the port call system and enforce existing rules, warning that well-intentioned policies are being undermined by human factors and weak enforcement.
Hammed lamented that the Nigerian economy can only thrive when government enforces her policies., stressing the need for attitudinal change among players in the sector.