Association Denies Raising Costs At Nigerian Ports

The Seaport Terminal Op
erators Association of Nigeria (STOAN) has said  that the high cost of business at the Nigerian ports should not be blamed on its members.
The spokesman for the association, Mr Bolaji Akinola, told newsmen in Lagos that costs of business at the ports were not as a result of their charges put at two per cent.
“All the terminal operators work, you remove the container from the ship, keep it and the owner comes to collect it.
“So, the cost of the terminal operators is what is called terminal handling charges.
“The other cost is storage; storage is for the number of days that he keeps the container at the terminal until you are ready to take it.
“Terminal handing charge is fixed. Since 2006, when the terminal operators took over, they never increased it. That is where terminal operators make money from.
“It is from terminal handling charges. It is called ‘THC’.
“So, it was fixed by government in 2006 and given to them.
“Government cut what NPA was charging by 30 per cent in 2006 and say,’ terminal operators that is what you should be charging’.
“So, where NPA was charging N1, 000 terminal operators were asked to collect only N700.
In 2006, when the terminal operators started, the cost of diesel was N65 per litre and today diesel is N170,“ Akinola said.
He recalled that the terminal operators recently increased the storage charges with the introduction of progressive storage charge.
Akinola explained that the introduction of the progressive storage charges was meant to discourage the use of the ports as storage areas.
He added that terminal operators were interested in cargo throughput (imports and exports).
The spokesman urged importers to get warehouses to store their containers to avoid congestion at the ports.