HOLDING BAYS: Customs Broker Makes Case For MSC, Others To Acquire Abuja Park

A licensed customs broker, Mr. Emmanuel Onyeme has advised multinational shipping lines without holding bays to engage the Federal and Lagos State Governments on the need to take temporary possession of the siberia Abuja park opposite Tin Can Island Port ,  in order to address lingering gridlock at the port.

The Abuja park was demolished recently by the Lagos State government as part of the ongoing campaign against illegal shanties across the state.

Onyeme, who is the  Public Relations Office, Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Tin Can Island Port Chapter, in a statement made available to our correspondent attributed the gridlock to lack of holding bays by some shipping companies operating at the port.

He noted that MSC has large volume of cargoes into the seaport thus should take the advantage on how best to utilise the empty space.

Sighting instances, the spokesman alleged
that Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC ) has contributed major setback to the gridlock at TCIPC port access road due to dearth of holding bays.

Onyeme called on the multinational to engage the federal government through the Nigerian Ports Authority NPA and Nigerian Shippers’Council respectively , to ensure that the Abuja is optimally utilised in resolving the perennial gridlock within the port access road.

He said “The only way out to this present Tin Can Island Port Traffic Gridlock Problem is
for NPA to approve the Abuja park that was recently cleared by Lagos State Task Force on Traffic Management as Holding bay for empty Containers for some of the shipping companies especially MSC that comes with volumes of containers.

“The Containers can be move with barges to the ship site whenever we have Vessel on ground including exports container.

“The terminals will now concentrate on examination and delivery process. ”

He also added that the recently suspended stripping of container activities within the port environment only contributes 1% of the gridlock problem , calling on the Port and Traffic Managers respectively, to make a strong case for management of NPA lease the park for liners .

Continuing, the ANCLA spokesman added that: “As of today most of the flat body trucks are all along the road finding it difficult to access the terminals especially TICT and Ports and Cargo Terminal because their terminals are fillee with loaded imports on top of trucks that are willing to exit from these terminal but no access road .”

By Roland Ekama