In 10 years’ time, Nigeria is likely to look a very different country from the one it is today. It will be the undisputed biggest economy in Africa, it will have some of the biggest and most automated ports on the continent, and trade (not just oil exports and fuel imports) will be a major contributor to GDP.

Even over the past decade and the start of the government’s port privatisation programme in 2006, there has been substantial change.

Companies, such as APM Terminals (APMT), Bolloré Africa Logistics (BAL), Grimaldi Group and China Merchants Holdings International (CMHI), have spent millions of dollars on  deepening berths, expanding yards, buying new equipment and installing new terminal management systems in the facilities in which they secured operating concessions.

Since 2006, both APMT and Tin Can Island Container Terminal Ltd, whose shareholders include BAL and CMHI, have invested more than US$350M in their respective facilities in  Lagos. Over this period APMT Apapa’s handling capacity has been doubled. In 2014, approximately 644,000 TEU was processed. 

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has undertaken both capital and maintenance dredging programmes and introduced e-commerce based payment and berthing  procedures, all of which have raised efficiency levels.

Rocky path

While terminal operators’ various strategies have not been carried out in a problem-free environment, and companies have often been criticised by entities such as the Nigerian  Shippers Council (NSC) for not investing enough, charging too much and delivering poor service, significant progress has been made. Box volumes have risen considerably, larger  ships are calling at many of Nigeria’s ports and investment interest in the country is strong.

However, congestion remains a serious problem at many ports, particularly on access roads to/from and between the marine terminals. This is most acute at the Apapa and Tin Can  Island container handling facilities in Lagos, and recent gridlock conditions have resulted in some cargo being diverted to other ports.

The deteriorating situation has also led to shippers, consignees and influential organisations, including the NSC, Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents and the National  Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders, calling for the NPA and provincial/ federal governments to tackle the problem.

“We are mobilising both human and material resources to ensure that palliative maintenance work on the access roads starts without delay,” said Malam Sanusi Lamido Ado Bayero,  managing director of the NPA.

Strategic solutions

But the NSC wants to see more strategic solutions to what has been, and continues to be, an endemic problem in Nigeria. It is also one that is very costly, as it restricts the  country’s trading opportunities, holds back economic development and individual companies’ expansion plans.

Earlier, this year the shippers lobbying group engaged Jordan-based NAFITH Logistics to identity the issues and to suggest remedies. Its main conclusions were that greater use  needed to be made of e-commerce platforms, and truck arrivals needed to be managed more effectively.

Hassan Bello, executive secretary of the NSC, believes much greater use should be made of rail and the country’s network of inland container depots, which are located in Funtua,  Ibadan, Isiala Ngua, Jos, Kano and Maiduguri.

The past two years have seen several new train services started, with three trains a week now scheduled between APMT Apapa and the cities of Kano and Kaduna.

In general, though, investment in roads, rail and logistics systems have lagged behind that in ports, and there are concerns that the fall in oil and gas prices over the past 12 months could delay, defer or even lead to the cancellation of some projects. 

In contrast, the country’s new port development programme appears safe. The ports of Lekki and Badagry, which are both being developed in the Lagos area, are due to come on  stream in 2019 and 2020, respectively. Another major new port, Calabar, is due to be completed by mid-2017.

Lekki Port LFTZ Enterprise, which is developing the Lekki port, will ramp up capacity very quickly once the initial phase of the deepsea facility has opened. Ultimately, the port will  have the capacity to handle 2.7M TEU of containerised cargo, plus 16.7 Mt of oil-related traffic, and approximately 4 Mt of dry bulk commodities. The container terminal will be  operated by ICTSI, with CMA Terminals as a minor shareholder (25%).

Meanwhile, Badagry’s full construction phase will deliver a port with 7 km of quay, 1,000-ha of yard and dedicated container, liquid bulk, gas and ro-ro/ general cargo facilities. Both  APMT and Terminal Investments Ltd are involved in the project.

To support the port project, the federal and state governments are involved in expanding the Mile 2 (Lagos-Badagry) expressway into a 10-lane highway. This is critical to ensure  that the congestion that has plagued Lagos’s downtown terminals is not repeated here.

Digging deep

Elsewhere, considerable progress is being made in developing the new deepwater port at Calabar in the state of Cross River, southeast Nigeria, with dredging work already  underway. Mainly geared to serving the area’s oil and gas industry, the project is being led by Broad Spectrum Industrial Services, an investment group that is believed to have  some backing from Cross River State.

A new 350 km highway being built between Calabar and Obudu in Cross River should also encourage cargo exchanges with northern Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

Meanwhile, the state governor of Akwa Ibom has set up a special committee and tasked it with bringing to fruition the new Ibom deepsea port at Idaka. Designed to relieve  pressure on Port Harcourt in Nigeria’s delta region, WorldCargo News understands that investor interest in the project is strong. 

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This complete item is approximately 1000 words in length, and appeared in the July 2015 issue of WorldCargo News, on page 29. To access this issue download the PDF here.