LAGOS: The movement of containers by rail from Lagos ports, which started over two years ago, has been stepped up by the authorities of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC).
This is coming on the heels of the hindrances, which trailed the project when it was initiated over two years ago after full rehabilitation of the rail tracks linking Nigeria’s premier port, Apapa Quay with Northern Nigeria’s commercial nerve centre, Kano.
The movement of the containers, which is being spareheaded by the NRC in collaboration with private investors is expected to move not less than 35 containers from Nigeria’s busiest terminal presently under concession by APM Terminals Apapa Limited, one of the subsidiaries of the Danish port operations and logistics giant, AP Moeller Maersk Group to the commercial city of Kano.
By the new arrangement, the containers are to leave Lagos port by railway in its twin maiden service to the APMT’s new inland container terminal situated in Kano.
The services is expected to be a significant improvement from the one initiated by an integrated shipping and logistics company, Inland Containers Nigeria Limited (ICNL).
The firm first began the carriage of containers by rail to its Kano and Kaduna terminals after the service was revived and activated in July 2013 after decades of neglect and abandonment.
The services were however dogged by poor services and inconsistencies as the management of ICNL grappled with the hiccups associated with anything new.
This prompted many stakeholders in the maritime industry to call for an effective intermodal transport system to decongest the Apapa access roads.
The situation was not helped by the persistent gridlock which made entry and exit from Apapa and its environs a daily nightmare for many motorists in recent times.
NRC Director of Operations, Mr. Niyi Alli, who confirmed the development in Lagos stated that while ICNL has not made any request to the corporation for service in the last few months, APMT has taken advantage of the service to begin the carriage of containers for its customers from Apapa Quay to its ICD in Kano.
Alli explained that while NRC has the capacity to service APMT, it is the responsibility of the concessionaire to make containers available for movement by rail to Kano.
His words: “The first thing you need to understand is that the total turnaround time is actually eight days. Now that does not mean that it is only one rail that moves. We have more than one rail moving. The railway is ready and our locomotives are available, but the issue has been that we can only move what is made available by the terminal operator.
Unfortunately, ICNL has not made any request in two months, but the good news is that last week, we started moving containers for the APMT. So for the APMT alone we moved 35 containers in one week – one train had 20 and the other 15. One loaded on Thursday and the other one on Friday.
“The other issue is that for them to come back they have to wait for the empty containers to be moved back on the rail and until that happens, they won’t move another set of cargo laden containers”.
The NRC Director of Operations noted that there is need for some kind of policy to make a certain number of containers available to be moved by NRC daily.
“We actually have the capability to move containers by railway but we can only move what is available for us to move. We have more than five rails available. APMT has actually started moving containers by rail and they have the intension to move a train a day and will have to get the market. We understand that the APMT is working very hard to get the market,” he said.
THISDAY had reported that APMT recently completed building an ICD in Kano where it has now begun lifting containers.
Alli revealed that as part of its efforts to support the initiative of movement of containers from Lagos by rail and reduced the pressure on the road, NRC gave part of its land to APMT for building the off-dock terminal.
He stated that there was need for importers and freight forwarders to begin to develop interest in the conveyance of their consignments by rail rather than through the road.
He said: “What they (APMT) need to do is to get the goods. When that happens we are ready for the movement but they have to get the products. If people do not want their containers to be moved by rail, there is nothing we can do about that.”
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