FG canvasses investors’ support for truck parks, inland dry ports

The federal government has urged investors to key into the immense opportunities inherent in the Inland Dry Ports (IDP) and the proposed Truck Transit Parks (TTP) initiated by the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC).

The truck parks and inland dry ports are the brain child of the NSC designed to be built and managed by private investors .

Yemi Osinbajo, vice president, said at a breakfast meeting organised by the Council in Lagos Thursday that the nation’s transport infrastructure possessed enormous opportunities that that necessitated everyone to cone together and take advantage of.

The theme of the breakfast meeting was, Financing Transport Infrastructure: Inland Dry Ports and Truck Transit Parks.

The vice president who was represented by Kolade Sofolahan, his senior special adviser on Infrastructure, said the nation’s infrastructure deficit was a huge opportunity that must be tapped into.

“We have infrastructural opportunities not a problem in Nigeria. It’s a huge opportunity that everyone should come together to develop a strategy to take advantage of. It is described as crisis, problem but I see it as an opportunity. We have to think about how to grow our roads, TTP and IDP in a way that it is integrated to diversify our economy,” he stated.

While speaking, Rotimi Amaechi, minister of transportation, disclosed that the federal government had approved and concessioned the establishment of six inland container depots across the geopolitical zones.

He also said that the FG had identified the TTPs as priority projects and provided institutional and legal framework for the establishment of TTPs by the National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan 2014-2043.

He said, “government have approved and concession the establishment of six inland container depot across the geo-political zones at Erunmu, Ibadan in South West; Isiala-Ngwa, Aba in the South-East; Futua, Katsina and Zawachiki, Kano in the North-West; Heipang, Jos in North Central and Jauri, Maiduguri in North-East.

“Construction work at the recently concession Kaduna ICNL Inland Dry Port has been completed and awaiting commissioning for full operations.”
“The inland container Depots are port of Origin for exports and origin for imports and will see Transportation of cargoes to the hinterland and even landlocked neighbouring countries.”

The minister said the ICDS ha been designated as consolidation centres for export of non-oil agricultural commodities and solid minerals products.

“I intend to very soon direct the Nigerian Shippers’ Council to open talks with the Nigerian Export Processing Zone Authority (NEPZA) to obtain export processing zone status for the ICDs.
“In the ICDS, there are great opportunities for investments (Added Values) including warehousing, commodity processing, packaging among others.

“With the concession of the six Inland Container Depots across the country. TTPs know variously as Rest Stops, Rest Area in other jurisdiction will be inevitable since road transportat account for over ninety percent of all freight an passenger movement in the country,” he stated.