NPA reaches final stage of deploying Port Community System

The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) said it has reached the conclusive stages of deploying the Port Community System (PCS), an automated process expected to eliminate delays and drive port efficiency.

According to the NPA, automating the port process will set the pace for the operationalisation of the National Single Window Project of the Federal Government.

Speaking in Lagos during the 2024 World Maritime Day theme ‘Navigating the Future: Safety First,’ Abubakar Dantsoho, managing director of the NPA, said the electronic platform would be deployed in addition to the comprehensive modernisation of infrastructure and equipment to enhance port competitiveness.

“Indeed, making global port operations healthier, safer, and more secure while actualising the other noble objectives of the world ports sustainability programme rests heavily on our shoulders as policy framers, investors, and stakeholders in its broadest ramification,” he said.

Represented by Ibrahim Umar, executive director of Engineering and Technical Service at the NPA, Dantsoho said the maritime sector is pivotal to national economic prosperity and global economic sustainability.

He said the NPA under the leadership and guidance of Adegboyega Oyetola, minister for Marine & Blue Economy, is committed to maximising opportunities inherent in the maritime sector for the benefit of Nigerians.

He said there is a need for every stakeholder to arise with a stronger commitment to take actions that create a better world for the maritime sector.

“We are cognizant of the impact of the seafarers who propel the maritime sector. The Nigerian Ports Authority in 2023 reconstructed and fully equipped the Mission to Seafarers facility in Lagos. This enabled the facility to become regional best-in-class, and capable of providing shore leave for seafarers.

“This is in recognition of the necessity for seamen who spend weeks onboard ships with only workmates for the company to get on shore to interact and access the internet to contact family, seek welfare, secure medical or psychological support if needed, and have a break from the work environment,” he said.

He explained that the NPA partnership with the Mission to Seafarers and the consequent development of the seafarers centre is a testament to the Ports Authority’s relentless commitment to the maritime sector and human capital development.

The NPA boss said this year’s theme of ‘Navigating the Future: Safety First,’ captures the maritime sector’s high-impact contributions to international trade and the global economy.

“This role often comes with great exposure to risk, which we are all duty-bound to mitigate by adequately equipping the specialised sector that propels the world.

“With over 90 percent of global trade which accounts for half of the world’s economic output constituting an important economic driver that helps to spur development and reduce poverty going by sea, every member of the maritime and indeed the global community is directly or indirectly a beneficiary of the services of the maritime sector,” he added.