The Nigerian Ports Authority [NPA] said it is set to commission two transit parks located at Lillypond, Ijora and Tin Can Island Port Second Gate to ease the perennial traffic and take trucks off the roads in Apapa.
NPA Executive Director, Marine and Operations, Dr. Sokonte Davies, who disclosed this during an interactive meeting with stakeholders in Apapa on Monday, said the new truck parks will enhance poperation and improve service delivery at the port.
He said trucks carrying empty containers and export items will be given priority in the use of the terminals.
The new truck parks, he said, “would take the bull by the horn and proffer permanent solution to the menace in view of the role the sector plays in the life of the nation’s economy.”
He also said that measures have been put in place to ensure free flow of traffic and effective use of the parks. The measures, according to him, include mandating a new task force on the Apapa traffic to ensure that all trucks are not allowed to park on the bridges forthwith while shipping lines and terminal operators will “synergize their operations to ensure the success of the call up system”.
He said security agencies are to remove all category of trucks milling around the port environment and “ensure that the Tincan Island–Mile 2 corridor is open for optimal traffic and port management”.
Trucks that break down on the port access roads will also be towed away.
The Director General Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency [NIMASA] Dr. Dakuku Peterside, who represented at the meeting by the Assistant Director, Shipping Development of the agecncy, Mrs. Anna James Akpan, was quoted as praising the initiative of the NPA in putting an end to the Apapa gridlock.
“The ease of access into the port and the provision and maintenance of the facilities to create a free flow of activities cannot be overemphasized as it will enhance the flow and increase of revenue to both the authority and the government,” he said.
The meeting was attended by the representatives of terminal operators, shipping lines, and truck drivers’ unions.