- NSC encourages more EU investments in transport sector
The European Union (EU) has sought for an appraisal from the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) on the €411million mass inland waterways transport project for Lagos State, also known as ‘Omi Eko’.
Delegates from the EU made this appeal on Monday when they visited the headquarters of NSC, even as they expressed readiness to partner with the Council to improve regional trade and deepen investments in the transport sector.
The Executive Secretary of NSC, Barr. Pius Akutah, who was represented by the NSC Director, Human Resources, Mrs. Ada Okam, encouraged the EU team to collaborate with the Council in its bid to decongest the Lagos seaports.
Speaking on behalf of the EU team, Celine Lhoste, said: “We have a project called ‘Omi Eko’ which is aimed at reducing the transport congestion in Lagos State and also reduce the transportation cost and time delays for residents in Lagos. This is a project that is estimated to cost €411million which will be supported by the European Union together with the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and the European Investment Bank.”
“We will start in a couple of months after all documents have been signed. We are meeting with Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) and all necessary agencies to sort out the different agreements. We also want to meet the various agencies and partners like NSC to know the strategic planning for shipping and the improvement of transportation within the Lagos area, across the nation and for the region”
According to her, the EU prioritizes its support for transportation and trade within the West African region through the Lagos-Abidjan corridor and the Union also has keen interest in Nigeria demonstrated by the ‘Omi Eko’ project.
“We are supporting Lagos, but we aren’t just looking at an improvement in transportation of people and goods within Nigeria but also across the neighbouring countries. This visit is to first establish a contact with the agency and discuss plans for transportation especially in decongesting the Lagos ports, increasing trade in the region along the corridor,” she remarked.
Noting that the Council promotes the development of key transport infrastructure such as Inland Dry Ports (IDPs), Vehicle Transit Areas (VTAs), among others, the NSC boss encouraged the EU to invest in these areas.
According to the NSC Chief Executive, the visit availed a strategic opportunity for collaboration between the EU and NSC in the area of port decongestion, transportation and other related matters.
The NSC boss, however, highlighted some of the Council’s functions to include; setting tariffs and handling charges at ports which have helped to reduce overtime cargoes and the abandonment of cargoes.
“The Council also monitors the joint boarding exercises on ships by examination agencies. This helps to reduce the time vessels spend at the ports and it improves ship turnaround time.”
“NSC equally addresses complaints relating to cargo abandonment and other challenges while it sensitizes port users on the importance of speedy handling of cargoes at the ports. Following the advice of NSC, the processes at the ports have been automated. The Council equally sets standards that are being monitored for enforcement,” she said.
Also speaking, the Transport Officer, EU Directorate General International Partnerships, Mr. Jesus Gavilan, stressed that the Union is
looking into provision of hard infrastructure and soft infrastructure for Nigeria and across the West African sub-region.
His words: “We have an initiative that was launched 2 years ago by the President of the European Commission. The goal was to improve connectivity between Africa and Europe. For that to be achieved, transportation is key with regards to the infrastructure and we are committed to invest in the development of corridors across Africa. We have selected about 12 corridors, but as my colleague mentioned, we want to support countries on this Lagos-Abidjan corridor.”
“We also want you to support and give an appraisal of ‘Omi Eko’ which is for waterways transportation in Lagos. Meanwhile, we look forward to opportunities to collaborate in order to boost transportation and trade along the Lagos-Abidjan corridor, as well as other opportunities such as railways, among others,” he posited.
