PCC, TTP want port corridors declared economic zone
Lagos -- The Port Consultative Council of Nigeria, PCCN, has called on the operators of the Electronic Call-Up system, otherwise known as ETO, to declare the port corridors an economic zone with a view to sustaining the significant achievement recorded in the management of traffic in the Apapa end of the port area.
Speaking during a meeting with the management of the Transit Truck Park, TTP, Chairman of the Port Operations Committee of the PCCN, Capt Ebubeogu Ihenacho, said that the sanitised traffic around the Mile-2, Orile Iganmu, Constain axis could record a resurgence if the current tempo was not sustained and improved upon.
Ihenacho, who is a former General Manager, Marine and Operation at the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, also said that the free flow of traffic within the port corridor could also be false as it could be attributed to several factors, some of which are drop-in trade volume and deliberate relocation of cargoes to other parts of Lagos outside the port areas.
He warned that if the truck parks were not made to be functional, the problem of traffic would linger until corporate organisations begin to own and operate trucks because most of the trucks on the roads just roam the streets looking for businesses.
He also advised the NPA to demand a transport management plan from both tank farm owners and terminal operators before issuing licenses.
He said: “These are things PCCN will be monitoring to show the tempo is being sustained and ensure that we consolidate on the progress made so far.
“As tank farms are declining and selling to people who want to use it for container operations, we must know how their traffic management is, the nature of the traffic they are going to generate.”