Shippers’ Council, ICRC synergise to revive 6 dry ports

The Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) and Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) are synergising to make the six Inland Container Depots (ICDs) located in each of the geo-political zones of Nigeria to become operational.

While the ICRC is the agency charged with the responsibility of regulating all government concessions and public-private partnerships (PPPs), NSC is the owner of the project (ICDs) and concessionaires.

Both agencies at a meeting in Abuja sought to find solutions to the factors hindering the completion of the dry ports whose contracts were signed since 2006.

Acting director-general of ICRC, Michael Ohiani, while declaring the meeting open, noted that 16 years after the concession contracts were signed, some of the ICDs were still at 5 percent completion as only two had gotten to 55 percent and 68 percent, hence the need for the meeting.

He said: “We want to rub minds and come up with how we can make progress: what are the challenges taking into consideration that these projects have already gotten Mr President’s attention and more so, we need to decongest our seaports. Also when completed, these ICDs will bring the required benefit to our citizens and our country Nigeria.

“We are not unaware that at the material time that the contracts were signed, ICRC as a commission had not been set up, so no proper Outline Business Cases (OBCs) were done for the projects like we now do, but I want us to have a frank discussion so that we can chart a way forward.”

According to Manji Yarling, ICRC head of media and publicity, the concessionaires and their locations include Oyo State (Ibadan) with 50,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEUs), by Catamaran Logistics Ltd; Abia State (Isiala Ngwa) with 50,000 TEUs by Eastgate Ltd; Plateau State (Jos) with 20,000 TEUs by Duncan Maritime Nig. Ltd; Kano State (Dala) with 20,000 TEUs by Dala Inland Dry Port Ltd.; Katsina State (Funtua) with 10,000 TEUs by Equitorial Marine Oil and Gas Ltd, and Borno State (Maiduguri) with 10,000 TEUs by Migfo Nigeria Ltd.

Yarling said based on the last assessment presented to the ICRC by the NSC, the percentage progress made by the concessionaires were: Oyo State – 10 percent; Abia State – 5 percent; Plateau State 29.7 percent; Kano State – 55 percent; Katsina State – 68 percent, and Borno State – 5 percent.

He stated that the concessionaires told the ICRC that the 16 years journey had been fraught with various challenges which hampered any progress that could have been recorded such as poor cooperation from state governments, lack of narrow gauge rail lines and access to funds.