Two years after the deployment of the electronic call-up system popularly known as the Eto App used for the batching of trucks going in and out of Apapa and Tin-Can Island Ports in Lagos, the movement of oil and gas tankers into the petroleum tank farms in Apapa, is yet to be controlled using the call-up system.
Jama Onwubuariri, managing director & co-founder of Trucks Transit Parks Ltd (TTP), who disclosed this to journalists in Lagos on Thursday on the second anniversary of the Eto App, explained the inability to control tankers lifting petroleum products from the tank farms.
According to him, many oil and gas tankers still queue on the port corridors contributing to the road congestion within Apapa.
The queue on roads and bridges leading to the tank farms, according to him, results in pockets of congestion on the port access road despite the fact that electronic call-up has significantly improved traffic of port-bound trucks within the Apapa metropolis in the last two years.
Read also: Naira design: PSN urged Central Bank to guide banks on supreme court’s assertion
He said there were a series of ongoing engagements with the relevant agencies of governments and authorities to ensure that oil and gas tankers, which constitute about 30 percent of daily truck traffic in Apapa, come onboard the Eto call-up system.
“Our commitment to delivering innovative solutions has allowed us to revolutionise the way cargo is transported in and out of Lagos ports. We are confident that our continued growth and success will bring even greater benefits to the industry in the years to come,” he said.
According to him, the Eto technology has helped to reduce travel time within the Apapa corridor, improve truck turnaround time, and improve ease of doing business and mobility in and out of Apapa.
On his part, Richard Emenim, head of development at TTP, said that the app has successfully reduced traffic around the port corridors, resulting in a significant improvement in the average turnaround time for port-bound trucks from two weeks before the Eto to three days today.
He said the technology has also contributed to a reduction in the cost of moving cargo by 65 percent, providing significant cost savings to businesses and improving the competitiveness of the Nigerian economy.
