The Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, on Friday inspected the Tincan Island terminal in Lagos, in the bid to resolve the lingering congestion at the port.
Amaechi visited the Tincan port with the Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority, Hadiza Usman and the Executive Secretary, Nigeria Shippers’ Council, Mr Hassan Bello.
During the inspection, Amaechi stressed the need for an urgent solution to the incessant gridlock thereby making it easy for unhindered access to the port.
He promised to meet with all relevant agencies on January 19, 2021 to find a practicable and permanent solution to the challenges.
Also, Usman said by January 2021, an electronic clearing system for cargoes would be introduced which would resolve the issue of gridlock at the port.
According to her, the agency is working with the Lagos State Government to create truck parks at designated areas in the state.
She added that the Lagos state government plans to provide a designated truck park at Orile, where trucks would park until their cargo was cleared electronically before they could proceed into the port.
“We are planning to deploy an E-call-up system in January 2021. We will provide an electronic call-up system within the ports and designated truck parks. No more random trucks parking on the road, we are going to have a designated trucks park; when you are called upon you can enter the port. The electronic call-up system will be across all platforms on phones. You can monitor when the consignment arrives and when you have been assigned to pickup your cargo. The E-call up will also remove human intervention and eliminate corrupt practices”.
She noted that the only thing that would be needed for clearing was the barcode which would be scanned at the entrance of the port to enable them enter.
In the same vein, Bello said that the council had never relented in its bid to proffer solutions to the gridlock at the Port.
The council boss, however, said that with the festive period, a lot of goods was expected to be imported into the country which called for urgent actions.
