Nigeria will become the maritime hub for West Africa if it developed its port infrastructures to meet global standards.
Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers Council, M. Emmanuel Jime, made the declaration on Thursday in Lagos.
“Unless we focus on the development of our infrastructure and make them of international standards, we will not achieve our objective of being a maritime hub,’’ Jime said at a meeting with newsmen.
Jime noted that the current major mode of cargo evacuation in Nigeria focusing on the road network was not the sustainable way of delivering port services in other parts of the world.
“The inland waterways and rail linkages are the moving parts that should come together for us to achieve the ultimate objective of ranking as a premium, proper maritime power,’’ he said.
Jime added that Nigeria also needed to strengthen its weak regulatory framework at the ports to make the country’s ports more attractive to global trade.
BRANDPOWER reports that the recently launched Lekki Port is expected will receive the volumes that should shift from today’s heavily congested Apapa/Tincan port area and could transform to be a trans-shipment hub for West Africa.
Lekki Port is designed to be able to operate vessels with a capacity exceeding 18,000 TEUs. Lekki is located at the heart of the Lagos Free Trade Zone. Apapa and Tincan ports are today very congested and a lot of Nigeria’s import volumes are discharged in neighbouring countries’ ports like Cotonou and Lomé.
