Shippers Council, Nigerian Railway Corporation’ Ink MoU On Cargo Evacuation From Seaports

By Roland Ekama 

The Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) and the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) have inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) as part of measures to facilitate cheaper and efficient carriage of cargoes from the seaports to the hinterlands across the country.

The MoU was signed on Thursday 8th August, 2024 in Lagos by the heads of the two agencies, the Executive Secretary/ CEO, NSC, Barr. Pius Ukeyima Akutah and Managing Director, NRC, Engr. Fidet Okhiria at a one-day stakeholders summit on “Limitations to Rail Transportation of Cargo in Nigeria” as put together by the council .

The MoU aims to promote multimodal cargo evacuation and distribution to the hinterland, reducing costs and congestion at seaports.

 

Speaking at the summit, the Executive Secretary,NCS lamented that nation’s seaports are at risk of congestion due to the absence of a functional rail system for evacuating cargo to the hinterland

He expressed optimistic that at the end of the one-day summit, challenges militating against transportation of cargoes to the hinterland (IDPs) would be identified and solutions proffered.

Akutah, noted that lack of rail evacuation has resulted in delayed cargo clearance, increased demurrage payments, and a surge in trucks and tankers on the roads, leading to gridlock and higher costs of doing business at the ports.

Executive Secretary/CEO noted that the Council is partnering with the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) to address the challenge by identifying and tackling limitations facing the railways infrastructural development, streamlining customs processes, and exploring Public-Private Partnership opportunities to enhance rail transport services.

Akutah in his keynote address pointed out that “Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) as a dependable ally is vested with the authority to manage the public rail infrastructure, and to provide rail services and facilities for the carriage of goods and passengers.

“The lack of functional rail system for evacuation of cargo from the seaports to various distribution centres to the hinterland has become a problem in the shipping industry and ease of doing business in Nigeria.

“This has resulted in congestion at the seaports, delay in off-loading of vessels and turnaround time, payment of demurrage, increase number of trucks and tankers on the road, traffic gridlock and high cost of doing business.

 

“On February 20th, 2014, and following the concession of the Nigerian ports in 2006, aimed at making the ports effective and efficient in line with global trend and best practices, the government further pronounced the Nigerian Shippers’ Council as an Interim Ports Economic Regulator while it was confirmed as a substantive Ports Economic Regulator in April, 2015, Akutah disclosed.

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Speaking earlier, Ify Okolue, Director, Inland Transport and Services of the NSC, noted that the objective of the summit is to identify the challenges facing the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) infrastructural development.

She added that the NSC and the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy stand resolutely committed to creating an enabling environment for the actualisation of optimal and seamless movement of cargoes by rail from the seaports to the inland dry ports and the hinterland in general.

“The objective of the summit amongst others is to identify the challenges facing the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) infrastructural development; the role of the Nigerian Custom Service towards enabling seamless movement of cargo/reduction of cost of doing business in the port, proffer practicable solutions to the identified problems and open up discussions on the possibility for Public Private Partnership (PPP) in the provision of rail transport services with a view to promoting multimodal approached to cargo evacuation and distribution to the hinterland.

“With the caliber of distinguished stakeholders here present, I am very optimistic that this event will come out with far reaching resolutions that will impact positively on the development and promotion of seamless movement of cargoes from the Seaports to the Inland Dry Ports (IDPs) in Nigeria.

“I therefore call on all the participants to take advantage of this opportunity and contribute meaningfully to achieve the objective of the event.” She noted.