By Kenneth Jukpor
In a bid to address the problem of hinterland shippers’ inadequate access to the seaports and frequent congestion at the Lagos ports, the concept of Inland Container Depots (ICDs) was promoted by the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC).
Despite the fact that after the concession of the seaports, dry ports were positioned as part of the government efforts to decongest the seaports and bring shipping services closer to importers and exporters in the hinterland, ICD projects always faced developmental setbacks because of infrastructural and funding issues involving investors as well as the port reform programme of the Federal Government. This led to the move to have the projects at geo-political zones under the framework of Public Private Partnership (PPP) and be run through the Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) model.
In the last quarter of 2016, the Federal Government said that it expected two or three Inland Container Depots (ICDs) functioning by 2017; and the development of ICDs in the country took a massive leap last week as the Kaduna Inland Dry Port scaled through the inspection by the Ministry of Transport and the Nigerian Shippers’ Council.
Kaduna Inland Dry Port is the only one among the six that is ready for business with the status of Port of Origin and Port of Destination granted by the Federal Government. The Federal Government on the 15th of March, 2006 granted approval to the Kaduna ICD to operate as a Port of Origin for both export and import and the approval was gazetted on 26th May 2016. The dry port will be operated as a joint venture between the Kaduna State government and the Inland Container Nigeria limited (ICNL).
Speaking to MMS Plus during the inspection of the Port facilities, the Minister of Transportation, Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, described ICDs as having multiplier effects on the nation’s economy even as he emphasized the importance of having access to the ports from various parts of the country.
“It is not possible for everybody to go to the seaport but you can still access the port from wherever you are. That is what we are trying to bring to the people of Kaduna and North West. The rail lines will soon start running before the end of the year. We hope to hand-over part of the narrow gauge. What is delaying it is cabinet, once we go to the cabinet and get an approval, General Electric (GE) will bring in about 20 locomotives and we will deploy some to Lagos – Kano and that will pass through the Kaduna corridor.” Amaechi said.
Meanwhile, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) Mr. Hassan Bello said, “the Kaduna facility must be a modern infrastructure. We have to avoid the mistake we have done with the seaports. So, even the traffic management must be modern for import and export.”
Hassan Bello assured that the Nigerian Shippers’ Council was working with the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA), International Maritime Organization (IMO) and other international agencies to ensure that the facilities at Kaduna are recognized internationally as ports.
According to Hassan Bello, ICDs should serve as the foundation for the Nigerian economy as the Federal Government looks to diversifying as well as improving the transport sector and facilitating exports.
“The essence is that you can consign cargo from anywhere in the world to this port through bill of laden and goods are examined there and delivery made. I can’t stop being amazed at the support of the state government for this project. We have this project in many states but this is the only state where considerable efforts have been shown in reality” he added.
On his part, the Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai commended the previous administration for beginning the Kaduna Dry Port project which he described as “a worthwhile project”.
“I want to thank the sponsors of this project. We inherited this project from the previous administration and we thought it was a worthwhile project to support and we did everything we could to make sure it works. Although some of the qualities are not what we want, I want to assure you that the road will be reconstructed with a concrete pavement. We also realized that we don’t want to replicate the problem of the Apapa port. We want this project to work because it is about creating jobs.”
The Governor highlighted that about 85% of the population of Kaduna State consist of young people below the age of 35 years. Hence, he referred to the project as apt to resolving the state’s biggest challenge and enshrining its economic focus which is to create jobs for the young people.
“Kaduna State government will be a partner. We will direct all the companies we are attracting to Kaduna to use this facility, we will encourage them to do so. But, I will appeal to you to please employ local people, don’t go and bring them from Lagos or Kano. Kaduna has talents and we have the largest concentration of tertiary institutions in Northern Nigeria in Kaduna. It is a cosmopolitan state and we consider everybody equal. Consider the state government as your number one partner.” El-Rufai said.
However, the Governor lamented that Nigeria is the only country in the world that has less than 45 per cent of its total freight traffic on the rail system. He revealed that he has been using the standard gauge from Kaduna to Abuja since it started working.
El Rufai said, “I am happy to hear that the rail line will start working. The narrow gauge will be put to use. The standard gauge from Kaduna to Abuja is already working and I use it a lot. Once we can get our rail system back, I am moving our freight back. At least 22 percent of the total Nigerian freight traffic should be on the rail system. And when this happens, Kaduna junction which used to be centre of rail transportation in Nigeria will come alive.”
On his part, the Chairman, Kaduna Inland Dry Port Limited, Chief (Dr) Tope Aborishade noted that it was the aggregation of the policies government put in place that made it possible to have Kaduna Inland Dry Port.
“From what we can see today, this partnership with the State and Federal Government is working very well. At the Kaduna Inland Dry Port Limited, we believe that because the Federal Government is interested in setting up many dry ports, if we do a good job many private sectors will invest in dry ports all around Nigeria and it will be for the benefit of the country.”
Aborishade said the Port had found different ways in which it can partner with Federal Government, Ministry, State Government, NSC, Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), etc., to make sure that what we have started here today will be the beginning of a major transformation.
He also appreciated the support the Kaduna Port had received from exporters and importers who have approached the company.
“We welcome you all and promise that we will not disappoint you. We will provide services that will help you do everything you can do in a seaport in this inland port”, he assured.
In a related development, the promoters of Kano Dry Port have accused the Federal Government of giving preferential treatment to the Kaduna Dry Port. The Chairman of the Dala Dry Port in Kano, Alhaji Ahmed Rabiu stated on his Facebook page that the Federal Government had refused to grant the status of Port of Origin and Destination to Kano Dry Port that was given to Kaduna Port.
“Some state governments have allowed the new Minister of Transport (Amaechi) to continue to frustrate the project (Kano dry port) two years into President Mohammed Buhari’s government of change. Vice President Namadi Sambo secured a declaration for the Kaduna inland port as a Port of Origin and Destination on 15/5/2015, just two weeks before leaving office after losing election even though Kaduna was never part of the six inland dry ports approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) under President Olusegun Obasanjo in the year 2003 for which concession agreements were only signed in the year 2006. Regrettably, the Federal Government refused to declare the rest dry ports, particularly Kano which pioneered the entire movement” Rabiu wrote on his Facebook account.
MMS Plus findings from the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, the facilitators of the projects revealed that the Minister since assumption of office has called on the Inland Container Depots (ICD) concessionaires to several meetings to know their challenges and encouraged them to move to sites or risk losing their licenses as he decried their holding on to their project approval for over a decade without site development.
The major impediment to development of ICDs in Nigeria has been funding, however, the Kano Dry Port has failed to reach a workable compromise with Maersk Line as proposed by the Nigerian Shippers’ Council.
Similarly, the promoters of Ibadan Dry Port have failed to reach a compromise with the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC); a partnership which was also proposed by the Shippers’ Council.
In many places around the world, bimodal and trimodal inland terminals have become an intrinsic part of the transport system, particularly in gateway regions having a high reliance on trade. ICDs have become sacrosanct as a result of the complexity of modern freight distribution, increased focus on intermodal solutions and capacity issues; however, Nigeria may never enjoy the evolution of inland freight distribution via containerization and intermodal transportation if ICDs can’t stand on simple Public-Private Partnerships.
