Poised to offer clients a fresh breath in door-to-door freights services and delivery within Port Harcourt and its environment, PrimePort Logistics, a cargo firm, is set to leverage on the estimated N5bn cargo clearing business at Port Harcourt International airport.
Cargo clearing at the international airport has been tipped by market watchers as a goldmine worth currently N5bn with only very few informal operators handling the 17.5 million kilos of cargo annually imported directly into the airport at N270 per kilo.
This only translates to 2.5 percent of the total 25 percent of imported cargo meant for Port Harcourt and its environs, as most clients still prefer to fly their cargo to Lagos before hauling them to Port Harcourt by the road.
This irregularity, analysts say, have led to the underutilisation of Port Harcourt’s market, which could easily have been the hub for the South-south region, giving its position as the destination for 25 percent of cargo imports into Nigeria.
Speaking to journalists in Port Harcourt recently, Femi Adewunmi, chairman, PrimePort Logistics, explained that having identified a huge underserved cargo market, his firm is out to drive cargo volume back to the Port Harcourt International airport and cement its position as the hub for South-south region.
“The challenge with Port Harcourt has always been volume and inability to offer convincing door-to-door pricing and services to clients in this region, but we will provide a new scope to freight business in Port Harcourt with our unparalleled efficient services,” he enthused.
The firm promised to optimise the use of technology to help improve its service offering, efficiency and clearing lead-time, adding that its rates will be also be benchmarked against industry best rates.
Adewunmi further revealed that as part of efforts to augment client’s expenses, the firm has set aside N60 million to enable it offset the additional freight cost of clearing cargo at the Port Harcourt international airport.
He added that the firm has also created a formidable relationship with major freight forwarders in the region to enable it operate seamlessly.
To him, there is a need for the government to actively encourage the use of the regional hubs such as the Port Harcourt international airport for freight services by offering huge incentives to firms who willing use the airport, rather than the current trend of using the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos before hauling to Port Harcourt.
“The government can spearhead the campaign of driving volume to the Port Harcourt international airport by importing cargoes meant for this region through this route and consequently the private sector can follow suit,” he said.
Odinaka Mbonu
