Some maritime experts have said that the establishment of Customs Trade Modernisation Project (CTMP) would enable Nigeria to become a shipping hub for west and central Africa.
The experts made the assertion in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Sunday.
The President, Women in Maritime Africa (WIMArrica), Mrs Rollens Macfoy, said that the establishment of the CTMP would make Nigeria a port of origin and destination.
She said that the trade volume of cargo would increase and the CTMP operation would also reduce the time of doing business at Nigerian ports.
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Also, the President of Women in Shipping Africa, Dr Odunayo Ani, said that the establishment of CTMP would allow customs to clear cargo in less than an hour due to the facilities that would be installed on the project.
According to her, if the time of doing business is reduced, Nigeria will be a preferred cargo destination to other African countries and there will be more job for the youth.
Tajudeen Alao, President of the Nigerian Association of Master Mariners, said that the federal government’s Customs Trade Modernisation Project (CTMP) will stimulate quicker cargo clearance at the nation’s ports.
Alao noted that the establishment of the project will also boost Internally Generated Revenue and enhance the country’s global visibility.
He said that the world had moved beyond conventional methods of doing business, with the advancement of technology.
He said: “More than 30 years ago, when Singapore grew from a third-world country to a first-world country, the President, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, led the drive for technology awareness, and now look at where Singapore is today in terms of technology.
“So, Nigeria must make more efforts to keep abreast with technological advancements worldwide.
“The establishment of the Trade Modernisation Project would add value in terms of Internally Generated Revenue through improved customs clearance procedures.
“Consider the time when we had to carry files around; now everything is done through ICT. Nigeria must modernise, and I am glad this initiative is underway,” Alao said.
The master mariner emphasised that without trade, growth is impossible and that creating an atmosphere conducive for trade “is essential to reap its benefits”.
Alao assured Nigerians of the tremendous benefits that would follow the establishment of the Trade Modernisation Project, adding that master mariners were upgrading themselves globally to remain relevant in the maritime industry.
BRANDPOWER reports that the federal government and Trade Modernisation Project Ltd. signed a 20-year Concession Agreement on May 30, 2022, to provide best-in-class technology for the implementation of paperless customs at the Nigeria Customs operations.
The General Manager of the Trade Facilitation Project, Mr Ahmed Ogunshola, explained the numerous benefits accrued to a nation when the Customs Modernisation Project (CMP) is fully automated.
Ogunshola explained that TMP was the automation of the business processes of the Nigeria Customs Service.
He said that the project would simplify and enhance the experience of stakeholders in the trade value chain, making it easy to obtain import and export clearances, pay duties, and obtain the release of goods.
Ogunshola said that the major advantage of the project was the significant growth in the revenue profile of the federal government.
“The project will generate more than 250 billion dollars for the federal government over the life of the concession.
“The project will bring Nigeria to par with the rest of the world, in terms of deploying technology to facilitate international trade.
“The TMP project will give the economic diversification agenda of the federal government a huge boost by providing further ease of cross-border trading.
“By the time the project is fully implemented, it will cover all areas of customs activities, including duties collection, clearance operations and suppression of smuggling,” Ogunshola said.
On his part, the National Public Relations Officer of NCS, Abdullahi Maiwada, assured stakeholders of quicker clearance of cargo with the establishment of Customs Trade Modernisation Project.
Maiwada said that the concessionaire had said that the facilities would be built foolproof against cyber-attacks with the latest security network gadgets used.
He said that the customs modernisation project, which had three phases, was a 20-year concession agreement.
The customs spokesman said the Trade Modernisation Project is was the automation of the business processes of the NCS to simplify and enhance the experience of stakeholders in the trade value chain.
Maiwada said it was expected to ease export and import clearances in paying duties and obtaining releases of good.
