Abia urges Shippers Council to prevail on East-Gate to realize Aba ICD

The Abia State Government has urged the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) to prevail on East-Gate Inland Terminal Limited, concessionaires of the Aba Inland Container depot to go back to site for early realization of the project.

Ernest Onyeukwu, permanent secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, made the appeal Wednesday, in Aba, the commercial hub of Abia State, at a-day seminar titled,  “Addressing transport and logistics challenges of South-East Shippers”.

He stated that the State Government is poised to partner with organizations that would make the ICD at Avor Ntigha a reality.

The long awaited Aba Inland Container Depot (ICD) at Avor Intigha, in Isiala Ngwa North Local Government Area of Abia State, will soon be realized, following interest shown by the new administration in the State, BusinessDay has gathered.

The new Government in Abia is expected to realise the project for the benefit of the people, as the multiplier effect of such a facility cannot be over emphasized, the source said.

The ICD project was initiated to ease off congestion at the country’s ports as well as provide fast track clearing services to importers in the country, of which Aba has a large number.

Out of the six ICDs recommended to be built across the six geo-political zones of Nigeria; the Aba ICD was the first to be issued with a certificate of occupancy, a feat which Adamu Biu, former chief executive officer of NSC, observed was as a result of the good relationship that exists between the host community and the concessionaire, as well as the doggedness of the management of Eastgate to realise the project.

Based on the arrangement, the Abia State Government is to provide infrastructure and other logistics for Eastgate to move in and develop as well as manage the terminal.

Eastgate, concessionaires to the project were issued with a certificate of occupancy in 2008 by the Nigerian Shippers Council, while the agreement for the commencement of the physical development of the project was signed in 2009.

All the parties to the project, including the Federal and Abia State Governments, Nigeria Shippers Council and the Concessionaire-Eastgate Inland Terminal Limited, expressed their commitment to ensuring realisation of the Aba ICD, believed to be the most viable of the six ICDs proposed for different parts of the country.

 

GODFREY OFURUM