Foreign and local investors are shunning the Lagos seaports over the perennial traffic gridlock that has refused to abate despite intervention by the government and private sector, LEADERSHIP investigation revealed.
Similarly, market observers believe over 40 per cent of businesses providing auxiliary services to the seaport relocated from the port environment to other parts of the state in the last five years.
Businesses such as clearing agencies, financial institutions, DTI Café, transportation companies, among others, relocated from the port environment due to the inability to access their various offices.
Now, most commercial buildings on Creek and Commercial roads, Child Avenue, Otunba Ayodele Soyele, Sen. Muse and Burma roads, Marine Road, Warehouse road, among others, remained unoccupied.
The area is now flooded with banners advertising vacant apartments and empty office spaces in the residential and commercial areas of the port area, an indication of low demand for accommodation.
Despite the introduction of the electronic call-up system by the NPA to reduce the gridlock and restore sanity on the port access road, the initiative has not solved the problem.
Though this gathering momentum and has helped in returning normalcy to some extent, it is yet to solve the gridlock challenge fully.
For instance, clearing agents, importers and truck drivers who could access the Apapa seaport can no longer access the port roads even though the Tin-Can Island port still remains inaccessible.
However, an industry report said that approximately 40 per cent of businesses located around the port communities have either relocated to other areas, scaled-down operations or completely closed down due to the traffic gridlock on the port access road.
This relocation according to the report, has had an adverse implication on tax revenues, job creation and real economic activities at the port.
Speaking on the gridlock on the port access road and how it has affected businesses, the immediate past president-general, Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), Tony Nted said he has been a victim of the Apapa and Tin-Can Island ports gridlock.
According to him, due to the gridlock, vessels cannot be discharged in Nigerian seaports within three working days. But, he advised the government to open up the other ports through dredging of shallow channels.
He said: “the real cause of the traffic is that the access road to the port is bad, also if the government want to decongest Apapa port, they should dredge every other port outside Lagos that has a shallow draft. The channel that cannot accommodate vessels of 25,000 or 30,000 metric tonnes should be dredged, when they do that, it will decongest Apapa port. “
Speaking on more investors shunning Apapa port, Nted said he personally lost N20million which he spent on attracting investors from Mauritania to Nigeria.
He said: “I can remember, I travelled to Mauritania, I had some investors that were supposed to come to the Lagos port but they asked me how many days I can discharge vessels of 35,000 Metric Tonnes, and I told them three to four days.
Speaking on the businesses that have relocated out of the Apapa and Tin-Can Island ports, the president, Shippers’ Association of Lagos State, Rev. Jonathan Nicol, said if the port road is free from traffic, businesses are expected to return.
“We commend NPA for the good work and if the introduction of the electronic call-up system is sustained and the roads leading to the Apapa and Tin-Can Island are free from gridlock, businesses that relocated from the seaports will return.
“The indiscriminate parking by tanker drivers and bad link roads are some causes of the traffic gridlock. The trucks have virtually taken over the entire roads, from Mile 2 and the Ijora ends leading to gridlock on the port access road.”
Similarly, the president of, National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Increase Uche, said new investors are not only shunning the seaports, importers are also moving cargoes to neighbouring ports.
According to him, the e -call up system was hurriedly put together hence refused to solve the lingering problem on the port access road.
To him, “the nation’s market share in cargo is dropping as shippers are diverting cargoes to neighbouring countries’ ports because of the bottlenecks on the port access road. A port will cease to be called a port when it outlives all its importance of being called a port then it will have all the numerous challenges that are presently facing the seaports such as importers abandoning the port, logistic challenges, among others.
“Government should do what is necessary to put an end to this because the port is operating below capacity and to do this, we need ro rejig the inland waterways to be able to move cargoes out of the seaports, the roads leading to the port should be fixed.”
“Importers are using neighbouring ports and it is not healthy for the economy and the trend will continue. The port cannot be expanded because they are river ports and cannot be dredged further.
Also speaking, the national president, Africa Association of Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics in Nigeria (APFFLON), Otunba Frank Ogunojemite, said the gridlock, unless solved, will affect fresh investment in the port.
