Dala Inland Dry Port, the biggest privately owned inland container port in Nigeria, which came into operation six months ago, has been identified as one of the private initiatives contributing to the ease of doing business in many of the states in the Northwest.
The commencement of the operations of the company is said to have pushed down the cost of moving export containers from states in the northwest to other parts of the world by as much as over 25 percent.
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Ahmad Rabiu, managing director of the company, who disclosed this while speaking to BusinessDay, on Thursday in Kano, hinted that the operations of the company are expected to further enhance the ease of doing when the rail line connecting the port to Lagos seaports is completed.
According to him, the multibillion naira port investment is already scaling down the costs associated with exportation from states in the sub-region, as well as stimulating the efficiency and competitiveness of companies involved in export business in the region.
” We are happy to disclose that Dala Inland Dry Port, is now fully operational. We started operations in May 2023, after being officially gazetted as a port of origination and destination by the Federal Government. And so far, we have become the first inland container port to export containers from the hinterland to seaports in Nigeria.
” We achieved this height after conjunction with the Nigerian Customs Service, and other agencies of governments operating in the port, export containers from here to Turkiye. Since then we have also been exporting through the port to countries, such as China”, he stated.
Rabiu noted that the operations of the port are helping to fast track the movement of cargoes, as the number of days entailed to cargo to Kano, in particular to Lagos has reduced tremendously, noting the extra cost, such as accommodating staff of the companies conveying the cargoes in hotels in Lagos has also been eliminated.
“One of the most visible benefits of the port to businesses in Northwest, and Kano, especially is that moving cargoes to seaport in Lagos for export is. now faster, and the amount of money which is expended to accommodate the staff accomplishing the cargoes in hotels, as well as other auxiliary expenses have been eliminated.
“We also expect that when the -Kano- Maradi rail line which the minister of transportation promised when he was inspecting the project, recently is completed, it will greatly enhance our operations, and boost our patronage”, he further stated.
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The managing director, who expressed delight with the commitment of the Federal Government to the completion of ongoing rail projects in the country, however, advised that the government should ensure that there is policy consistency in all areas that involved rail and port development.
