Following the slow pace road construction along Apapa Oshodi Expressway , Tin Can Island port corridor, truck drivers have commenced the abandonment of cargoes due to Hitech Construction Company Limited failure to control vehicular movement and diversion effectively.
The truckers last weekend confronted officials of the construction company for failing to divert trucks movement in and out of Tin Can Island Port, which led to backlog of vehicles trapped at the terminals.
While engaging management of Hitech Construction Company Limited at Tin Can Island Port on Friday,Vice Chairman ,Dry Port Section, Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), Alhaji Inuwa Abdullahi lamented that no alternative routes was created in the cause of the ongoing rehabilitation adding that the procedures laid down by Hitech was faulty.
Inuwa noted that the ports must not be on lockdown despite the road construction , pointing out that truckers have been cooperating with Hitech to manage traffic situation without affirmative results.
He agreed that the road project was aimed to cushion the effect of transporters mostly as it affects movement of cargoes from the port but maintained that “the roads are blocked and the alternative routes have been cut off completely without proper diversion of trucks.
Inuwa noted that some drivers had wanted to shutdown the facility of the construction company, situated along TCIP due to the slow pace , but added that the timely intervention of some stakeholders in the haulage business engaged them constructively to halt the process.
The NARTO chieftain decried the poor strategy put in place by the construction firm to manage vehicular movement.
According to him,” NPA did not come out to tell us that the port is closed down due to the construction rather we made to understand that it’s 24hours port operations and despite the construction of the road we are managing the situation.
“But when they now close the access for trucks going through the second gate inward the port creates more problem and hardship for our drivers.
“We have been managing the situation for over two months now but the complains from our drivers are alarming.
“As we speak, some of drivers have abandoned the trucks for we the owners because of the situation of the road and based on that some vehicles are there for about a week.
The NARTO chief called on management of the construction firm to create an alternative route to second gate for inward flow of trucks in accessing the terminals.
On his part Administration Manager, Hitech Construction Company Limited ,Mr. Emmanuel Okoye said he was not in the position to speak to the media adding that complaints by the truckers would be channeled to the appropriate quarters.
Our correspondent who contacted the Port Facility Security Officer in charge of Tin Can Island Port of the NPA , Mr Akindele Olajide,explained that the construction company had urged management of the port to allow the flow of trucks within the port access road.
But according to him,management of the NPA had resisted the ideas from the construction firm because of the pressure and impact it could have on port operations.
He also affirmed that the truck drivers are suffering due to the sitiation but appealed to them to exercise a little patience as the road construction would soon be completed.
By Roland Ekama,Lagos
