ICDs to check ports congestion, reduce unemployment, says Transportation Minister

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Transportation Minister, Mr Rotimi Amaechi

The
Transportation Minister, Mr Rotimi Amaechi has said that the Inland Container
Depots (ICDs) located in the six geo-graphical parts of the country will address
the issue of perennial congestion in the seaports that has lasted over the
years.

Amaechi
also said that the ICDs, known as dry ports and the planned Truck Transit Parks
(TTP), will equally generate a lot of employment for many Nigerians in their
various locations.

The
ICDs which were approved by the Federal Executive Council in 2006 under the
Build Own Operate and Transfer (BOOT) basis and truck transit parks are to be
supervised by the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC).

The
Minister said that in addition to the six gazetted facilities, Kaduna Inland
Container Nigeria Ltd (ICNL) depot upgrade was approved in April 2011.

Speaking
in Kaduna during a sensitization seminar on dry ports organized by the NSC and
the ICNL, Amaechi said dry ports were conceived as part of the solution to the
problem of hinterland shippers’ inadequate access to the seaports and frequent
congestion.

On
the dry port in Kaduna run by ICNL, he said it would have the potential benefit
of not only reducing transport cost and bringing shipping to the door steps of
the shipper, but would also generate employment opportunities to the teeming
people of Kaduna and boost the local and national economy.

He
described the planned truck parks in the state and other parts of the country
as a good project which would check carnage and accidents on the land mode.

Amaech
called on the stakeholders who attended the seminar for collaboration for the
project to succeed.

He
said, “I am happy to observe that the NSC is already collaborating with the
Nigerian Railway Corporation, Nigerian Ports Authority and the Nigerian Customs
to ensure that it succeeds.”

Executive
Secretary, NSC, Mr Hassan Bello, in his opening remark on the occasion,
described the emergence of ICDs and truck transit parks as part of the port
reform programme introduced in the country some years back.

Bello
said ICDs had a lot of benefits and would be fundamental to boosting export and
import business in the country.

He
said ICD project has direct benefits in replicating port economy in the
hinterland.

Bello
who said his Council would work hard to see the success of the Kaduna ICD,
truck transit park and others yet to take-off, commended the ICNL for the
upgrade of its terminal that led to its recognition.

He
also commended the Kaduna State Government for provision of the infrastructure
that to make the project succeed.

The
Kaduna dry port, he said, would succeed, adding that it would increase the
internally generated revenue (IGR) and lead to more employment creation in the
state.

The
Chairman, ICNL, Mr Temitope Borishade said that after due process, ICNL
terminal in Kaduna was recommended for approval to be upgraded to the status of
an ICD with a capacity of 5,000 TEUs.

Borishade
added that with the completion of the upgrade, the Federal Government in its
official gazette in 2015 granted approval to the Kaduna ICD to operate as a
Port of Origin for both export and import.

The
dry port, Borishade said, would be operated as a joint venture with the Kaduna
State Government, adding that ICNL was now better equipped to bring shipping
services to the hinterland and landlocked neighbouring countries.

He
said ICNL was currently meeting with international communities, shipping
companies, the Customs, NSC and other agencies in the quest to actualize the
project.

He
also disclosed that the company had the capacity to handle 29,000 containers
per annum.