Apapa: Stakeholders ask NPA to make port operators acquire equipment

The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has been asked to compel operators within the ports in Apapa to acquire more cargo handling equipment aimed at fast-tracking their opera¬tions in what should reduce the spillover of trucks on the roads from the ports.
Stakeholders have con¬tinued to insist that the con¬cessionaires at the port oper¬ate with inadequate cargo handling equipment which slows down their operations resulting in several trucks headed to the ports lining up on roads for their turn to enter the ports.
The decision for NPA, which is the landlord to the ports, to closely monitor the
operators and ensure their operations do not continue to inflict pains on motorists/residents and jeopardise other businesses within Apapa, was arrived at yet another stakeholders’ meet¬ing chaired by Ovenseri Emmanuel, a naval commo¬dore and commander, NNS Beecroft in Apapa.
The meeting held at the NNS Beecroft last week had in attendance representa¬tives from Lagos State gov¬ernment, Federal Ministry of Works, NPA, Association of Maritime Trucks Owners (AMATO), Nigerian Asso¬ciation of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), Police, Lagos State Traffic Manage¬ment Authority (LASTMA), Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTE¬AN) and National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW).
The meeting also man¬dated the police and LAST¬MA to collaborate on traffic management and ensure that only trucks with valid documents as proof of hav¬ing business to do within Apapa are allowed into the port community as Julius Berger is expected to begin remediation works on the failed sections of Oshodi-Trinity-Tin Can-Creek road.
Amid several other meas¬ures in the search of a solu¬tion to the gridlock, stake¬holders were unanimous in their view that the repair of the collapsed road would have a significant positive impact on the congestion and bring some relief to Apapa which in the last two months has been under siege by oil tankers and con¬tainer bearing trucks.
The Federal Govern¬ment last week directed Julius Berger to take over the construction of the road from Borini Prono, which appeared to have shown lack of capacity to handle the work.
Babatunde Edu, the gen¬eral manager of LASTMA, who was present at the meeting, said the agency ready in line with the resolu-tion, was stepping up moni¬toring and enforcement of traffic as Julius Berger begins the construction.
“We are expecting that Julius Berger will give us their work plan as they usually do, and we would key into it in terms of traffic diversion and management while the work lasts,” said Edu.