The Partner Government Agencies and Stakeholders Forum (PGASF) plans to work with Creek and See Truck Park to build a holding bay for 1,000 trucks to ease traffic between Mile 2 and Tin-Can/Apapa ports access roads.
The Customs Area Comptroller (CAC), Kirikiri Lighter Terminal, Comptroller Benjamin Aber, made the disclosure on Wednesday in Lagos, when members of PGASF being championed by him led journalists to the uncompleted site for the truck bay.
Aber said that PGASF had been able to identify two locations as parking bay to decongest all the corridors leading to the ports on temporary and permanent basis for all trucks operating within the port environment.
The facility would be established along Mile 2 axis but currently awaiting ministerial intervention and directive.
“If we take 1,000 trucks off the port access roads, it will ease the road for the users as well as the truck drivers.
“There are rest rooms for both the truck drivers and tanker drivers,” Aber said.
He said with the temporary truck holding bay, there would be free entrance for people working around the Kirikiri Lighter Terminal area to have free access into their offices.
Aber said that a number of times, many people working around the Kirikiri area had been trekking several miles and parked their cars far away from their offices as a result of indiscriminate parking by the truck drivers.
“The main objective of the PGASF is to deliberate on security issues and challenges bothering on the implications of the traffic gridlock.
“The gridlock is around the access roads to Apapa port, Tin-Can Island port, Petroleum Tank Farms and Kirikiri Lighter Terminal.
“Our aim is to also proffer practicable solutions to resolve the challenges affecting the above mentioned areas permanently and attainment of free access roads along Mile 2 to Apapa corridors,” Aber said.
He stressed the need for the PGASF to achieve necessary synergy for coordinating timely information-sharing in a manner that would assist both the security agencies and stakeholders to tackle issues affecting them.
The Customs boss and members of the PGASF had been having constant weekly meeting since February in ensuring that they come up with conducive working environment for all port users and assist the government in generating more revenue.
Aber said that the benefits of decongesting the ports’ access roads were enormous, adding that it would increase economic activities within the corridors and increase revenue collection by all government agencies.
He said that decongestion of the roads would stop loss of lives and anxieties of the trading public and would also prevent fire outbreak due to convergence of tankers, trucks and environmental degradation.
Also speaking, the Chief Executive Officer of Creeks and See Truck Park, Meyiwa Ogbebor, said that the truck holding bay would accommodate 1,000 trucks at once.
“We have not fixed the cost for the truckers but they will be paying for 12 hours during which the truck driver will review payment if he will still continue to enjoy the facility.
“The cost will be affordable. That is why we have not fixed the cost because we need to negotiate with users before coming up with fixed cost.
“There will be penalty for any truck driver who violates the terms and conditions of the company,” he said.
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