The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) on Tuesday said it would enhance port service delivery by using the railway in cargo movement across Nigeria.
The Manager, Lagos Port Complex, Apapa, Malam Nasir Mohammed, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that use of water, road and railway transportation was imperative for efficient cargo movement.
“The success of any port, especially our Nigerian ports, must be dependent on three angles; the water angle and the road angle, of course the road angle divided on the trucks and the railway.
“For Lagos port, we are trying to harness all the three. We already have an existing road angle through which we move cargoes including containers and other general cargo that leaves Lagos ports.
Mohammed said that an existing rail track in the Lagos port complex, terminated directly in Kaduna and Kano and enabled the inland container depot in Kano to move some boxes.
He, however, said with increased number of wagons the weekly movement to Kano would be more frequent.
“We are also beginning to look towards using the waterways to move cargo.
“We want to start engaging some stakeholders in discussions in such a way to see the possibility of using our extensive waterways to move cargo, not just within Lagos itself, but maybe out of Lagos.
“It is something that can be used, because it’s being used in some other parts of the world much more seriously in such a way that you don’t even see boxes; you don’t even see containers on the roads.”
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