• Thursday, March 28, 2024
businessday logo

BusinessDay

NPA upgrades Apapa Port’s control tower to enhance efficiency

Mohammed Bello Koko

Determined to enhance service efficiency at the port, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) said it has rehabilitated the Control Tower at the Lagos Ports Complex (LPC), Apapa in Lagos.

Mohammed Bello Koko, acting managing director of the NPA, who toured the rehabilitated Control Tower, said it has become expedient for port facilities to be upgraded to impact positively on port operational efficiency.

He said that effective communication is an important variable for efficient performance of the seaports.

“We aspire to be competitors in the sub region. One of the ways to achieve this is by ensuring our facilities such as the Control Towers are up to date and upgraded to work with modern communication and radar systems.”

“This would improve communication, reduce ship waiting time and further reduce the cost of doing business at our ports,” Bello-Koko said.

Read Also: Electronic call-up scuttles Apapa ports’ racket

According to him, a second control tower at Tin-Can is also being upgraded to provide communication with ships using the VHF frequency.

“The rehabilitated control towers will also have updated radar and communication equipment that will enable communication between the ports in Lagos and Lekki deep seaport and Dangote refinery jetty,” he said.

Bello koko said that the NPA is deploying more marine equipment like pilot cutters and security patrol boats at various port locations in order to improve port efficiency and security around the ports.

In a related development, Bello-Koko has allayed the fear of stakeholders over insinuations that the activities of hoodlums at the Tin-Can Island Port may negatively affect the progress already recorded by the truck electronic call-up system ‘Eto’ in tackling the perennial gridlock at the ports in Lagos area.

While visiting the spot where vandals attempted to destroy the ‘Eto’ infrastructure at Tin-Can, Bello-koko assured that rehabilitation works had already commenced to replace the infrastructure.

He pointed out that the incident has not in any way affected operations. He appreciated stakeholders’ support, especially the Lagos State Government for the collaboration at enforcing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in the use of Eto which has remained a continuum.