The E call-up system, targeted at managing truck traffic into the Apapa Port, has not only helped to reduce congestion within the port city but has also improved travel time for port users, motorists and residents.

Bala Mohammed, a truck owner, who described the call-up system as the best solution to traffic management in Apapa and Tin-Can ports, states that there has been a significant improvement in traffic as trucks no longer clog the bridges, adjourning streets and port access roads.

According to Mohammed, it now takes two to three days for trucks to access the port from pre-gate or satellite parks compared to the days when trucks will take three weeks or one month to get to the port.

“Eto (the E call-up system) has assisted truckers in bringing down the cost of accessing the port. Before, truckers spend between N250,000 and N300,000 to get to the port, but now we spend no more than N30,000 to get to the port,” he told BusinessDay in a telephone interview.

The E call-up has also helped in bringing down haulage cost, which was formerly between N600,000 and N650,000 to load Apapa to Ikeja, or N1 million to N1.1 million to load Tin-Can to Ikeja, but now, Ikeja from Apapa costs between N140,000 and N200,000 while from Tin-Can it is within the range of N160,000 and N200,000, he said.

Currently, importers pay between N370,000 and N400,000 to move one by 40-foot container from Apapa to warehouses in Ikeja, Lagos, while one by 20-foot container costs about N300,000.

From Tin-Can Port, importers still pay between N700,000 to move one by 40-foot container to the same Ikeja while one by 20-foot costs between N350,000 and N400,000 due to problems associated with return of empty containers.

The reduced traffic congestion and haulage cost are a boon for businesses operating within Apapa, whose profits took a haircut in the back due to the unforgiving gridlock.

For instance, NASCON, a consumer goods company, moved 60 percent of its operations away from Apapa in 2019 after the gridlock affected the movement of raw materials, timely delivery of finished goods to customers and increased turn-around time of the company’s trucks.

Remi Ogungbemi, chairman, Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO), said though the call-up system is helping to address the traffic congestion in Apapa, it has also not performed optimally.

According to Ogungbemi, trucks that normally queue from Apapa to Mushin and Palmgrove before the call-up system no longer queue like that again.

The amount truckers spend to access the port has also reduced drastically, but extortion by the enforcement team remains because there are areas where police still pass trucks in place of the system, he said.

“Why things have not been working as expected is because people that have been benefiting from the chaos still want to be benefiting. This is why they are still looking for how to circumvent and sabotage the system. Whether anybody likes it or not, an automation system for admitting trucks into the port called Eto has come to stay and we can only improve on it,” Ogungbemi assured.

The system does not favour those charging truckers between N100,000 and N200,000 to pass trucks into the port, and such people are no longer getting such monies again, he noted.

While pointing out that truckers still see policemen, LASTMA officials, and Road Safety on the road when it is not supposed to be, he said truckers want the system to work in a way that trucks will remain in their private parks till they receive information that it is their turn to load before they can leave their parks.

On challenges, Eto is still releasing trucks more than necessary, he said, adding that truckers want a situation where trucks would be released according to what each terminal can accommodate at a point in time.

Read also:

Releasing 500 trucks because a terminal can attend to 500 trucks in a day is not the best, rather the number can be rationed, he pointed out.

“A situation where we are still having human interference is not the best. It is because the system has not been working as expected. If it has worked as expected, we will not need anybody to stand on the road. Eto system is far better than where we are coming from and we are hoping that it gets to a point where the system will work optimally,” he said.

On some of the challenges facing the system, Mohammed said the existence of multiple checkpoints mounted by the enforcement teams including LASTMA, police, FRSC, and NPA security for extortion is affecting the effectiveness of the system.

“No system is perfect at a go. When the truck leaves the satellite parks or pre-gates to the port, it is supposed to move smoothly but because of extortion, we still see multiple checkpoints. This is affecting the smooth batching of trucks to the port. We need the checkpoints to be reduced in order to enhance the batching of trucks into the ports because the system does not need human interference,” he said.

Shipping a 40-foot container from China to the Apapa Port could cost N500,000 for the 10,540-kilometre voyage, but taking the same out of Apapa to Sango-Ota in Ogun state, cost N1 million as of 2020 for a distance of 38 kilometres.

Dubbed Nigeria’s premier port, Apapa as a community was an enclave for elites several years ago. Expatriates and other high net worth individuals favoured it, but as order and sanity gave way to pollution, traffic congestions, and crime, those who had built their lives around the port-city gradually voted with their feet, and businesses followed suit.

“There are people feeding fat from the fact that there is traffic, but now, it is affecting the generality of businesses,” Paul Odey, general manager/CEO of Apapa GRA Residents’ Association as at 2016 had told this reporter. “Apapa is more than fuel and containers as there are a lot of other businesses. We only have those two businesses surviving while everything else is dying.”

This has come at a cost to the Nigerian economy. As reported by BusinessDay, a report by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) noted Nigeria loses N600 billion in Customs revenue annually, including $10 billion in non-oil export sector and N2.5 trillion in corporate earnings across various sectors due to the poor state of Nigerian ports. The congestion in Apapa meant government was losing, businesses were losing but the ultimate winners were security agents and street urchins in charge of extortions at multiple checkpoints.

While an estimated 5,000 trucks seek access to Apapa and Tin Can ports in Lagos every day, the two ports can only accommodate 1,500 trucks, according to the LCCI. To get ahead of the queue is where things get interesting and miserable at the same time.

Interesting when the magnitude of extortion, with its dramatic twists is explored, yet, miserable, when the impact of all these on the immediate economy of Apapa is considered, and even the wider Nigerian state.

“We even used to gamble and pay as much as N300,000 to pass our trucks into the port,” said Bala Mohammed, who owns a fleet of trucks. “By the time you access the road around a place like Eleganza, that is when they will turn your driver back, sometimes beat him and even damage the truck, and the person you paid money to will be unreachable. There is nothing you can do as the money is gone.”

As different ‘movers’ are used to facilitate the movement of trucks, it could be a civilian with influence in the port-city or one of the several military officers deployed to ‘maintain traffic’. If money was paid to a uniformed personnel, and a truck still could not access the ports, they would often threaten to ‘deal with’ with the truck owner when such person calls to lament, according to Mohammed.

The gridlock, much of which was artificially created because of roadblocks where trucks were extorted, made commuting in and out of Apapa a hellish experience. With the usual Lagos traffic, while this reporter could for instance commute for 17 kilometres from Ikeja to the entrance of Apapa Bridge at Iponri within 45-minutes, the remaining 4 kilometres to Point road where BusinessDay is located could take an average of 3 hours depending on how fast the trucks move. The impact affected both individuals and businesses.

In the first quarter of 2020, an interview conducted by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) on critical challenges facing the sector, showed 94 percent of the CEOs had said congestion at the ports had a significantly negative effect on their productivity and cost of production.

“Most worrisome are the issues of deliberate delay in cargo clearing time, raising of technical barriers, rejection of relevant documents by officers of the agency that approved import documents, multiple agencies with duplicated functions and other rent-seeking activities of vested interests at the port that excessively fleece operators,” they said.

Read also: National Development Plan 2021-2025 will spur robust growth – APC

Even at the point of entering the port after spending two weeks (on the road), and paying at multiple checkpoints, Mohammed explained that a truck could still be turned back. “We have multiple cabals, so if the mover you pay doesn’t share the money to all the checkpoints, once you get to a particular checkpoint, they will ask your driver ‘how far?’ If the mover is not there or the driver doesn’t know the code to clear his truck, they will turn him back,” he said.

Even though truckers like Mohammed no longer spend as much as N300,000 to access the ports, multiple checkpoints remain sources of extortion, and they still spend up to N30,000 per trip

Technology to the rescue?

After a decade of what appeared to be a hopeless situation, the introduction of an electronic call-up system known as Eto App by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and its technical partner, the Trucks Transit Parks Ltd (TTP) in February 2021, was welcomed with cautious optimism.

A Presidential taskforce, the Police, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), the Nigerian Army, and the Nigerian Navy had at different times failed to curb the traffic gridlock in Apapa. To observers, it was doubtful that a mobile app, which could also be accessed through web browsers, would fix the situation.

Five months into the deployment of the electronic call-up system, the cost of transporting containers from Apapa and Tin-Can Ports to importers’ warehouses in Lagos, started declining and currently, has dropped by 75 percent on a year-on-year basis, from N1, 600,000 to N400, 000, according to BusinessDay’s findings.

In addition, the amount paid to shipping companies by cargo owners as demurrage for delay in taking delivery of their consignments has also reduced, since the minimum two-week delay that came with congestion on port roads has been eliminated for now, and hopefully, permanently.

“There is a significant improvement in terms of access to the ports without much stress or having to pay camp boys, cabals, movers, etc the sum of N250 or up to N300 thousand without any assurance of getting to the port,” said Mohammed, who has about 40 trucks already registered on the tech platform.

The Eto App, is used in generating electronic call-ups for trucks, and it has enabled better control and management of port bound trucks. With its introduction, there has been relief for port users, motorists, and Apapa residents from the pains of a decade-old traffic congestion in the entire local government area.

As BusinessDay learnt, fleet owners can register multiple trucks under a single account for either export or import. From the app, they can schedule any truck going to the ports, pay the required fees only and with this, the need to have multiple trucks competing for the roads appears to have been solved.

Once a truck enters the satellite park, they would be booked into the park through the Eto platform, following which the system would batch the truck under 24 hours. If the truck is batched to leave the satellite park, on the same day, it moves to the pre-gate and from there depending on traffic, can be batched out within two days. There are times the process can be completed within 24 hours and a truck would access the port, while in the past, the process took at least 2 weeks.

Once a truck is issued a call up ticket from the gate, it is supposed to move straight to the port without any interference, but with multiple checkpoints cropping out, the automation system is being affected.

This is because once 100 trucks are released from ‘pre-gate’, after one or two hours, another batch of 100 trucks are expected to be released but as multiple checkpoints cause delays, trucks could gradually build up on the roads.

“From Apapa to Ikeja we are now loading for N150,000 to N170,000 which used to cost N500,000 to N1 million before the coming of Eto App,” said Mohammed, highlighting the impact of the technology on the haulage business.

Traces of extortion persist

Even though truckers like Mohammed no longer spend as much as N300,000 to access the ports, multiple checkpoints remain sources of extortion, and they still spend up to N30,000 per trip. A fraction of what was paid before, but still extortion.

Multiple checkpoints, which according to him are illegally mounted by some policemen, joint task teams like LASTMA, FRSC, and NPA, sometime insist drivers ‘give them something’, despite having an Eto ticket.

Recalling an experience earlier this week, one of his trucks was coming from Ijora-Olopa, and the driver had a valid Eto ticket but a policeman stopped him, demanding for N2,000.

“I spoke to the officer and told him the driver is having a valid Eto ticket that qualifies him to access the ports without any interference, and he replied that the Eto ticket is not for him, as long as he is on the road,” Mohammed recounts.

This, he says, highlights the kind of entitlement mentality by uniformed personnel, who remain adamant that if not given money, trucks will not pass. “If you call the area commander or superior police officer, he will tell you that they are not aware and that they did not send those people to do such, yet we have made complaints several times but those people on the field refuse to change their attitude,” he says.

The multiple checkpoints affect not only truckers, but also the automation system, which should not have human interference.

From Ijora-Olopa, security agents are said to demand N2000 or sometimes N5000 per checkpoint, on the bridge they ask for as much as N1500, and all of these add up to N30,000 or N50,000 to load a job of N150,000.

BusinessDay learnt there are some drivers who know their rights, fight for it and will pass through without paying bribes. There is another twist to those who fight for their rights. When security agents trying to extort a truck driver see such a person is unyielding, they could tell them to park somewhere and let other trucks pass. The moment the driver agrees to park the truck, they call LASTMA officers to come and arrest the truck on the claim it has been ‘wrongly parked’. This would end up with the truck being towed away by LASTMA, which then imposes heftier fines on the truck. All of these, just to keep truck drivers pliant and to keep paying bribes, which the Eto App should have eliminated completely.

Original Post by https://businessday.ng/features/article/apapa-an-app-breathes-life-into-a-ghost-town-limits-extortions/

Check by BusinessDay shows that importers and exporters struggled to do business in 2021 as many were setback by issues such as container shortage, high cost of freight, high exchange rate among others.

On the positive side, issues such as the introduction of electronic call-system for trucks was a plus for the port industry as it resulted to drop in the cost of haulage. Here are five things that shaped Nigeria’s port industry in 2021.

Introduction of electronic call-up system

One of the things that decided the way business activities were handled in the nation’s seaports in 2021 was the introduction of the electronic call-up system known as Eto App by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and its technical partner, the Trucks Transit Parks Ltd (TTP).

Eto App was used in generating electronic call-ups for trucks, and it enabled better control and management of port-bound trucks. This brought in relief for port users, motorists, Apapa residents from the pains of almost a decade of protracted traffic congestion on port roads.

The introduction of the electronic call-up system, which was the first in the history of the Nigerian port business, drastically reduced the man-hour on the port roads as the system came alongside truck transit parks and pre-gate facilities, which enabled trucks to desist from queuing on Apapa roads and bridges.

Crash in haulage cost

Another factor that shaped business activities in Nigerian ports was the drop in the cost of transporting containers from the port terminal to the importers’ warehouses.

Five months into the deployment of the electronic call-up system, the cost of transporting containers from Apapa and Tin-Can Ports to importers’ warehouses in Lagos, started declining and currently, it has dropped by 75 percent on a year-on-year basis, from N1.6 million to N.4 million

In addition, the amount paid to shipping companies by cargo owners as demurrage for the delay in taking delivery of their consignments also reduced due to the removal of the almost two weeks’ delay that come with congestion on port roads.

Container shortage

In 2021, cargo owners found it extremely difficult to get space onboard vessels due to the global container scarcity. This resulted to serious disruption in the global supply chain flow as importers, logistics firms, factories, and retail businesses had to wait for weeks and months in some cases to secure space onboard ships.

Container shortage started with the outbreak of the coronavirus, which compelled many economies to lockdown in 2020, and when economic activities reopened in the second half of 2020, a large number of containers were trapped at ports because factories could not operate for months.

Many Nigerian importers also found it extremely tough to bring in their goods from America, Europe, China, India and other Asian countries.

Read also: E-customs critical to growth of Nigeria’s port industry

“There was a long wait to get containers overseas to freight goods into Nigeria especially at the second half of 2021,” Tony Anakebe, a Lagos-based, clearing and forwarding expert, said.

On his part, Ola Adebayo, Haffar Industrial Company confirmed that the shortage of containers made containerised imports from China take longer time than usual to come into the country.

Soaring cost of freight

Another development that defined business activities at the nation’s seaport was the high cost of freight, which was as a result of the container shortage.

In 2021, the cost of freight skyrocketed as the global shortage of containers resulted to rise in the prices of freight and importers who used to pay $28 per metric ton were made to pay between $38 and $39 per ton to bring goods from the United States to Nigeria.

For containerised goods, moving a 40-foot container from India to Nigeria that used to cost between $3,000 and $4,000 went up as high as about $15,000.

High exchange rate

Another thing that shaped business in the nation’s port industry in 2021 was the volatility, scarcity and high rate of foreign exchange as the value of the naira plummeted. Consequently, companies that depend on imports for their critical input especially local industries struggled to survive.

“Many importers were not able to place an order with their suppliers due to scarcity of foreign exchange, and when available, the rate was also very high. And if there is no foreign exchange, there will be no business in the port industry. This challenge worsened the problem of high freight that importers are facing in the global shipping industry,” Anakebe said.

According to him, the high exchange rate of Nigeria’s currency to US dollar compels importer to use as much as N420 to get one dollar.

This, he said, made it difficult for importers to break even and to recoup the amount invested in their business within the year despite the increasing market prices of goods.

Original post by https://businessday.ng/maritime/article/five-things-that-shaped-nigerias-port-business-in-2021/

The Tin-Can and Apapa Ports are major economic gateway to Nigeria and account for about 80 percent of the country’s total imports.

Also, the cost of moving a 40-foot container which used to be between N1, 500,000 and N1, 600,000 in 2020 has, this year, dropped by 76.7 percent and 75 percent in one year to N370, 000 and N400, 000. Similarly, transporting a 20-foot container which cost N800, 000 in 2020, has equally dropped by 56.3 percent N350, 000.

Currently, shippers pay between N370, 000 and N400, 000 to move a 40-foot container from Apapa to warehouses in Ikeja, Lagos, while a 20-foot container goes for N350, 000 depending on the weight, showing the cost of transportation has remained stable since the second half of the year when the cost dipped.

From Tin-Can Port, shippers still pay between N350, 000 and N400, 000 to move one by 40-foot container to Ikeja, while one by 20-foot costs N350, 000.

Yuletide season normally comes with celebrations, including parties and other events, making it a peak season for businesses and companies. But with the prevailing decline in business activities at the ports, the rush that comes with the season is yet to be seen.

Jonathan Nicol, president of the Shippers Association of Lagos State, said shippers have reduced imports due to the high exchange rate of the naira to dollar, profit decline and payment of heavy taxes on imported goods.

Nicol, in a telephone conversation with BusinessDay, also referred to issues around global supply chain disruption that resulted in container shortage and an astronomical rise in the cost of freight.

“The high exchange rate is a ‘killer disease’. Most businessmen source their foreign exchange from the black market because getting from Nigerian banks is like a camel passing through the eye of a needle. It is only companies that are regular with the banks that hardly get $100,000. If you bid for $2 million, you hardly get $200,000 for shipment, and to get $2 million would probably spread through the year for the importer to get that kind of money from the bank,” Nicol explained.

He said shippers were still hoping for a further reduction in the cost of haulage especially if the government makes the roads to the ports motorable.

According to him, the construction work is seriously giving shippers problems because goods that pass through the road are not protected due to the constant falling of laden containers caused by potholes and craters.

He wants the federal ministry of works to expedite action on the ongoing construction on the Westminster to Mile-2 axis of the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, which is causing shippers to lose their goods in transit.

Tony Anakebe, managing director of Gold-Links Investment Ltd, a clearing and forwarding firm in Lagos, said there was a significant reduction in haulage cost as moving a 40-foot container to Sango-Ota in Ogun State now costs about N600,000 as against N1,000,000 in 2020, while Tin-Can Port to Ladipo now costs N450,000.

“There is a low volume of business at the ports due to high exchange rate, freight and escalating cases of COVID-19, all of which have limited the number of people traveling abroad for business. The reduction in the gridlock on port roads also helped in reducing the cost of freight,” he added.

Emma Nwabunwanne, a Lagos-based importer, said transportation has remained stable despite the yuletide due to the decline in the volume of business at the nation’s seaport. He added that about 10 to 15 trucks now chase one container, which automatically means the price will drop.

“The volume of import has dropped and some school of thought puts the reduction rate at 50 percent. Few containers that are coming into the country right now are for the major industries and food companies like Nestle, Dangote, Unilever, Nigerian Breweries, Guinness, and other blue-chip companies that import regularly and their imports are tied to industries,” he said.

On the high cost of foreign exchange, he said industries need money to buy raw materials, and most companies that used to operate at 100 percent hardly measure up to 50 percent due to the lack of raw materials.

The zone, which is part of the initiatives by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) in conjunction with Trucks Transit Parks, will upon commencement, create a space for processing export related cargoes in order to facilitate export trade and reduce the number of export trucks on Apapa roads vis-à-vis traffic gridlock.

BusinessDay understands that the idea of the Lilypond Export Processing Zone is to ensure that all export operations in terms of customs examination, document processing, verification of the vessel, and ensuring that all the terminals are ready to receive goods, will be done by the export processing zone.

Adedenuola Orimolade, operations manager, Trucks Transit Parks Ltd (TTP), who disclosed this in a recent interview with BusinessDay, said NPA identified Lilypond as an export processing zone because it was discovered that several export trucks still stay on the road waiting to go to the terminal even after exiting the pre-gate terminals.

“The concessionaire for the Export Processing Zone has started construction. They started the civil works in the segregated area within Lilypond terminal, and we believe that in the next 30 to 60 days, there should be full execution because there has been series of engagements to that effect,” he said.

According to him, the initiative will also help in ensuring that the electronic call-up system will become sustainable.

Itunuoluwa Shonibare, a truck owner, who pointed out that export cargo has been suffering, said that exporters and their truckers need a platform under the electronic call-up system to ensure seamless delivery of export containers to the port.

She further disclosed that truckers are presently running away from lifting export cargoes due to the clog in wheel of its delivery.

Recall that the NPA in March 22, 2021 suspended trucks carrying export cargoes from having access into Ports in Lagos, Apapa and Tin-Can Island Ports, for two weeks.

This, according to the authority, was due to some challenges with export cargo, which resulted in congestion being experienced within Apapa corridor despite the implementation of the electronic call-up system.

NPA noted that a lot of export trucks approach the port without completing their documentation.

Original post by https://businessday.ng/maritime/article/lilypond-export-processing-zone-to-begin-operations-in-two-months/

The Guardian learnt that new technologies such as the installation of closed-circuit cameras (CCTV) in strategic locations of the port, access control barriers, access control card readers, underground bollard system, among others have completely phased out manipulation of the system, which led to its initial collapse.

Besides, a new export-processing zone is currently under construction at Lillypond terminal in Apapa to ease the movement of export cargoes.

The Operations Manager, Truck Transit Park Limited (TTP), Adedenuola Orimolade, who disclosed this, said the new development on the port access roads was achieved in collaboration with all terminal operators, the Lagos State government and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).

He said: “For example, from Lagos port complex, multiple cameras are overseeing Creek road, Warf Road and we can see what happens within the port gates. It’s also at Tin Can First gate and Second gates and the Abuja entry and exit points.

“All the truck parks are also interconnected. The CCTV does a feed from Lillypond and feeds everybody. You can also see what happens inside the Satellite truck parks among others.

“We have also deployed the access control barriers, access control card readers, and bollard. The underground bollards are to deter all forms of malpractice by the transporters. So, you cannot get into the port area without having the appropriate booking reference code. If you beat the access control barriers, you cannot beat the bollards,” he said.

Noting that the export trucks have posed a major problem in recent times, he said the cooperation of stakeholders and adherence to the policy and the time guideline would help a great deal.

He said: “The NPA has identified that within Lillypond, we should be able to create space for an export processing zone because it was discovered that a lot of trucks still stay on the road even after exiting from the pre-gate. So the process of the export-processing zone is to ensure that all export operations in terms of customs examination, verification of the vessels, and ensuring that all the terminals are ready for the cargoes. This is a good system and it will ensure that the call-up system is sustainable,”

He said the concessionaire for the export-processing zone has started construction. “They have started civil works within the segregated area within Lillypond and we expect that it will be completed in the next 30-60 days,” he stated.

Chief Operating Officer, TTP, Temidayo Adeboye, said some actions of truckers to circumvent ETO were fueled by ignorance of the gains that the new operational method would deliver to the transporters if wholly embraced.

He noted that the ‘Eto’ platform has put a stop to the extortions, which is estimated at N100 million daily before the introduction of the electronic call-up system.

Adeboye said expectations are that the problem of corruption will be tackled once there is free flow of traffic to and from the port.

“The extortion industry in Apapa is about a hundred million a day. That is what it used to be. If we can fix 50 per cent of the problem, nobody can extort money from port-bound truckers,” he said.

He disclosed that while other types of trucks have been streamlined and allocated time belts in a bid to ensure all trucks on ETO platform get into the ports within 24 hours of booking, export trucks have posed a major problem, challenging the entire project.

Adeboye who insisted that the ease of traffic in Apapa largely depends on effectively regulating the movement of export cargo and disclosed that NPA in tackling the challenge is creating export zones, stating that “until we find a solution to the export problem, we can’t get to that 24-hour entry target. The export problem is really abhorring”.

He said the cooperation of stakeholders and adherence to the policy and the time guideline would help a great deal.

“If everybody can just do the right thing, everybody will transit within 24hours. But right now, what we are seeing is a maximum of 48 hours if it is not an export container,” he said.

The collapsed port access roads had caused huge economic loss to seaborne trade before the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA) in partnership with Truck Transit Parks (TTP) Limited and Lagos State government introduced the electronic platform, otherwise known as Eto in February this year.

Eto had faced serious challenges leading to return of gridlock to Apapa corridor in recent times. Investigations showed that sanity has returned to the port access roads, while evacuation of cargo is ongoing.

When The Guardian visited yesterday, the Ijora-Apapa road was free of traffic, while officers were on the ground to monitor the electronic call-up card. The road inward TinCan Port is currently being managed by trucks, as construction works continue on that axis.

However, the truck operators want improved efficiency at the terminals and reduction of checkpoints on the roads. Speaking on the development, the Chairman, TTP, Kamar Bakrin, told The Guardian that the company has reviewed the operational mechanism of the platforms and it has been able to put the gridlock under control.

“We have been able to achieve the long-awaited milestone of bringing the Apapa traffic under control without a presidential visit or military deployment,” he said.

The Managing Director, TTP, Jama Onwubuariri, said the company has identified the threats to effective deployment of the call-up system.

He listed the threats to include: “Inadequate road infrastructure; insufficient access control infrastructure; non-compliant truck park operators who release trucks out of schedule; queue jumping by some truck owners and drivers; rogue enforcement agents and inefficient terminal operators.”

Onwubuariri said by using a combination of technology, physical infrastructure and stakeholder collaboration, the partners in the project are increased and existing infrastructure optimized.

He noted that the firm has been able to remove the initiative of the park owners releasing trucks from their parks indiscriminately.

It has also neutralised truck drivers’ ability to access the port without first being in a park, and following the queue.

He listed other measures taken to include: “Making public the manifest of trucks due to enter ports daily, therefore, making it unnecessary for enforcement agents to create multiple checkpoints en route to the port and clearly identifying the capacities and inefficiencies of terminal operators and working with them to optimize port efficiency.

He said: “Currently, the Apapa logistics ring is enjoying free traffic flow. We hope to sustain this and thereby increase ports operational efficiency,”

Onwubuariri enjoined government to fix the problematic access roads

Administrative Secretary, Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO), Bala Muhammed told The Guardian that the situation has improved now, as trucks can now access the ports.

He lamented the issue of multiple checkpoints on the roads and cautioned Lagos State Government officials of high-handedness.

Muhammed also stressed the need for the terminal operators to improve their efficiency so that more trucks could pick cargoes and exit the terminals in a short interval.

A truck Driver, Bolaji Ogunmodede, said: “The roads are better now, we can get our Eto card, present it, and enter the port with less stress, but there is room for improvements.”

Ogunmodede said the problems with Apapa road would linger until the Federal Government complete the road construction. He stresses the need for re-orientating the officers who he claimed are frequently harassing drivers and tow vehicles at the slightest opportunity.

Original post by https://guardian.ng/business-services/port-users-heave-relief-as-fg-restores-electronic-call-up-system/

Nigeria is believed to have the most robust port infrastructure in the sub-region, but port users have continued to struggle with huge economic costs due to inefficiencies arising from unfavourable export and import processes.

Over the years, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), has made several interventions to resolve the incidence of heavy vehicular and human congestion around the country’s seaports and off-dock terminals, especially those within the Lagos axis where a large chunk of the nation’s external trade is processed.

After experimenting with a manual truck scheduling arrangement for over a year, the NPA came up with an electronic truck call-up system in February to tackle the perennial traffic gridlock responsible for the delay along the access roads leading to the country’s two busiest ports.

The truck call-up system, dubbed “Eto”, the Yoruba word for “to schedule”, is now the only authorised pathway for cargo trucks to access the port, including transfer of empty containers by shipping companies.

With the deployment of “Eto”, truck companies, terminal operators and freight agents are required to download the app, and then proceed to create an account to monitor the schedule and movement of their trucks in and out of the port.

According to the managers of the e-call up system, Messrs Trucks Transit Parks Ltd (TTP), benefits to subscribers of “Eto” include increased returns on logistics investment while maximising time per trip.

From available accounts, the roll-out of the electronic truck call-up platform proved to be a game-changer with its instant positive impact on the carriage cost of goods at the two Lagos ports.

The haulage fee imposed on fully laden containers from the Lagos Ports Complex, Apapa to a destination within the Lagos area fell substantially in the week the “Eto” app was formally launched.

Similarly, carriage cost from Tin-Can Island Port to warehouses within Lagos State dropped progressively by the second quarter of 2021, according to the records.

However, in spite of the firm directive by the NPA that non-compliance to the use of “Eto” and its guidelines would result in denial of access into the ports, impounding of trucks and withdrawal of registration or operating license, investigation has shown that some truck drivers and their collaborators appear bent on derailing the system.

While the responsible trucking companies continue to follow due process, the actions of some desperate truck drivers have become a big worry to the NPA.

Allegations of forgery of transit e-tickets and selling of tags to truck drivers by unscrupulous TTP employees were rife, while cries of extortion by security operatives assigned to monitor traffic along the port corridor became increasingly strident.

But TTP and the manager of the “Eto” platform say that the challenges are being addressed frontally.

Determined to restore port users’ confidence in the electronic truck call-up system as witnessed in the early days of its roll-out, Acting Managing Director of the NPA, Malam Mohammed Bello-Koko’s first public action when he assumed office in early May, was a visit to the Lilypond Terminal described as the theatre of operations for “Eto”.

He assured the operators of NPA’s commitment to speedily resolve all teething challenges against the smooth implementation of the call-up system.

“I have directed that action be taken immediately to improve the overall efficiency of the truck scheduling system for the benefit of its subscribers,” the NPA boss said.

The improvements he demanded from TTP included immediate deployment of physical infrastructure such as bollards, spikes and automated barriers and the installation of CCTVs at the port’s entry and exit points.

Bello-Koko also met with the Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to fine-tune strategies to curb indiscriminate parking and alleged extortion of truck drivers.

The NPA and Lagos State Government resolved to collaborate more on enforcement of traffic rules by rejigging the security architecture on the port access roads which had been fingered as a major contributor to the delays and alleged extortions along the corridors.

Bello-Koko also recently endorsed the implementation of additional measures designed to correct deficiencies so far identified.

According to the new measures, henceforth, a daily manifest will be generated by TTP for all trucks approved to access the port.

The manifest will be shared with all customers (subscribers), while truck owners will inform the drivers of trucks on the list/manifest to proceed to their various port destinations according to their allotted time as stated in the manifest.

The new measures also stipulated that all trucks must physically be situated in their respective truck park or pre-gates before being called out or pre-gated out, as applicable, with any truck or truck park found not complying blacklisted, or shut down.

Vehicles not verified from such truck parks but are on the manifest shall not be allowed into the port.

At the port end, TTP must ensure that only trucks on the manifest gained access into the port while NPA provides security.

To affirm seriousness, some truck parks were recently suspended for some infractions.

The new measures stipulated that after a ticket had been duly issued, it is the responsibility of the truck owner/driver to secure it as no other law enforcement agent is authorised to check driver’s call-up tickets.

Analysts have hailed the renewed zeal for the success of the “Eto” app, especially in view of the enormous impact of the Apapa traffic situation on socio-economic activities in Lagos.

They believe that the “Eto” initiative, if effectively deployed, will bring an end to the intractable vehicular gridlock on the access roads leading to the country’s two busiest seaports.

They, however, emphasised the buy-in of the port community, noting that such support was critical to success.

Mr Sesan Onileimo, Executive Director, Maritime Industry Advocacy Initiative, an NGO, put it more succinctly.

“The ‘Eto’ system must be supported to succeed to keep the Nigerian port economy on the path of efficiency and growth; it is an intervention too good to fail,” he said.

(NANFeatures). nannews.ng

Original post by https://dailytrust.com/lagos-ports-congestion-eto-call-up-system-as-best-solution

NPA last year said it had commenced procurement process seeking for private investors to manage the trailer park at Tin Can port when completed.

Disclosing this in a chat with SHIPS & PORTS, Chairman, Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO), Chief Remi Ogungbemi, said the Tin Can trailer park has been handed over to a private firm, MOB Integrated Services Limited while the Lilypond truck park would be managed by Truck Transit Park Nigeria Limited.

Ogungbemi said although the investors are yet to roll out modalities for the management of the truck parks, he is optimistic that the new arrangement will eliminate extortion of truck drivers, reduction in the number of security operatives and clogging of trucks along the port access roads.

The AMATO chief noted that for effective implementation of the new system, all trucks including those that belong to manufacturing concerns and petroleum tankers must be compelled to leave the roads to their private parks and garages where they will be called when it is their turn to load.

He added that all security agencies including the task force team involved in the passing of trucks should be replaced with new hands in order for them not to circumvent the new arrangement.

“I believe with this new change in place, things will change for the better. The management of the parks should use it to ensure orderliness and sanity on our road. Before that place can work optimally, the security agencies including police, LASTMA controlling movement of trucks must be replaced with new ones otherwise they will circumvent it for their own interest no matter how laudable the guidelines are. The place should not be run as usual and the management should not allow personal interests to override majority interest.

“Let there also be a numerical system that would indicate the number of trucks that would be call and each truck must have identification tag so that as the trucks are coming, they will be displaying the number which will go along with the number of trucks called to avoid shunting. All trucks including Dangote trucks should be made to leave the road. Trucks should go back to their garages and park and should only come out when they have the tag,” he said.

Ogungbemi also urged the management of both parks on the need to sensitize truck drivers on how the facilities would be operated just as he appealed to truckers to support the new arrangement.

Original post by https://shipsandports.com.ng/fg-hands-over-tin-can-lilypond-truck-parks-to-private-investors/