Multiplicity of service
processes by customary government agencies in the ports and friction among them due to overlapping functions, constitute bottleneck to international best practices in seaport terminal operations.
The General Manager of BUA Ports and Terminals Ltd, Port Harcourt, Alhaji Mohammed Ibrahim Lile, made this assertion during an awareness seminar on the role of the Nigerian Shippers Council as ports economic regulators held in Port Harcourt, Wednesday.
Lile, in his paper, “Enhancing Shipping Services Delivery and Pricing At Nigerian Ports” said there was need for the government to address the post-concession challenges inorder to reduce port costs.
According to him, issues such as host community problems especially in the Eastern, Ports and prevalence of shanty villages within the ports environment, inadequate pilotage, tug boats, pilot cutters, delayed berthing and sailing of vessels should also be looked into.
He further said arrest of vessels at berth by the Nigerian Customs or NIMASA and attendant consequences enchroached on the terminal operators berth space and through put, adding that port access vehicular traffic control is also chaotic.
“It has reduced the turnaround time of trucks resulting in high cost of haulage and congestion of the terminals.
Dependency on only one mode of transport for movement of cargo from port terminal   is a big challenge,” he further said.
The General Manager noted that non-release of the entire leased area to Terminal operators was also a challenge, pointing out that 10 per cent of the leased space to BUA Ports has not been released to them by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).
Lile also listed that governments’ fiscal policies such as ban on the importation of cement, high duty on motor vehicle, rice, wheat and restriction on the importation of fish was also a reason for the very low traffic in all the ports, including the Eastern ports.
He hinted that inadequate public power generating system, lack of public power supply had been additional cost to the Terminal Operators, while still paying NPA electricity bills, and called on them to consider putting independent power plant production in place.
The BUA Ports and Terminals boss also noted that lack of political will to implement port development policies was also a challenge, stressing that Ibaka and Badagry ports have been on the drawing board for a long time now as well as intermittent ASYCMDA Connectivity failure has been another challenge to terminal operators cargo release and high port costs.
He, however, called on all stakeholders to support government to achieve its target of 48-hours cargo clearance and lower cost of operation, adding that, “it is a herculean task but with unity of purpose, there is no limit to what we can achieve.”