It may take off the pressure from the road but that is as far as the trucks carrying containers are concerned. We know that the tankers are also contributing to the gridlock. In other words, if the port is putting in place a holding bay for trucks, there is need also for the tank farms which in the first instance shouldn’t be where they are, they ought to also have their own holding bay. Even if the truck park is working at 100 percent capacity, I don’t see it removing entirely the gridlock problem at the tank farm areas because they are all intertwined. The Lagos State government has shown concern about what is happening along that road, so there is need to locate a place where the tankers can also use.
Joe Sanni
Yes, of course. It is because they don’t have a terminal that is why they block everywhere. If they have a holding bay, they are supposed to come to the port when they are needed electronically. With the way they are littered and wandering about everywhere, we are not finding it easy at all accessing the port. So I think the only solution to the Apapa gridlock is to have a terminal where the trucks can park and at any point in time they are called upon, they will come and load their goods and go. The poor state of the port access road is also contributing to the gridlock so the government should also endeavour to fix the road because they are collecting revenue from the port. When the truck holding bay is made functional and with a good road network, it will certainly ease the traffic congestion.
Chukwumalu Emeka
It will reduce the traffic a little bit because the problem of the Apapa gridlock is not just having a truck holding bay. Shipping companies should also have their holding bays outside the port where the trucks can drop their empties and come into Apapa empty. If that holding bay should be for empty trucks waiting to load, it will serve better but if it’s to carry empty containers and go there, it will be worse. That place should be a parking space for empty trucks that want to load inside Apapa or Tin Can but they should not try to drop empty containers there. That way it will help to address the traffic problem.
Kanu Chukwujekwu
Yes, it will help reduce the gridlock because it is very close to the port and somebody can easily negotiate from there with the truckers. But another problem now is the activities of the tank farms which of course are very close to the port and we heard they are even going to site more tank farms around coconut area close to PTML. So it’s just as if they are trying to provide solution to a problem and at the same time sabotaging the solution because I really don’t know why they have to site more tank farms in Apapa when the existing ones have created problems which both the Lagos State and Federal Government have been unable to address.
Ugochukwu Nnadi
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