Eguono Odjegba
14 December 2003
THE Federal Government has been called upon to upgrade the two existing inland container terminals currently being operated by Inland Container Nigeria Limited in Kano and Kaduna to Inland Container Depots of international standard. They are also to be given full status of modern ICDs. Managing director/chief executive of National Clearing and Forwarding Agency (NACFA), Mr Andy Isichei gave this advice at a recent international workshop held in Abuja on the implementation of ICD project under the Build, Operate, Own and Transfer (BOOT) model in Nigeria.
While speaking on the theme "Ensuring the success of the ICD system: imperative for Clearing and Forwarding Agencies" he noted that if the Kano and Kaduna ICDs are used as pilot schemes it would afford the nation an opportunity to learn and correct whatever imperfections that may be found in the system before the full implementation of ICD regime across the country.
Isichei advised that the present practice whereby Customs duties, shipping companies charges etc are collected at the seaports before containers are transferred to the two existing inland container terminals in Kano and Kaduna, should be discontinued in preference for the payment of these charges at their destination in the inland terminal locations. This is only logical; he said if the benefits of the system are to be enjoyed by importers in the Northern part of the country they were meant to serve.
On the implications of the Build, Operate, Own and Transfer (BOOT) model intended by the government for the proposed ICDs' the NACFA chief executive pointed out that the concept of BOOT would inevitably entail globalisation with the attendant high standards it would bring as Government has not closed its doors to any willing investor, local or foreign, who is ready to participate in building, operate, own and transfer of any ICD in Nigeria.
Mr Isichei said it should not surprise anyone if foreign investors with advanced technology, capital and long years of accumulated experience in maritime logistics take advantage of this opportunity to participate in the ICD project and that interested Nigerian companies should gear up to the challenge by coming together and pooling resources together to gain the advantages of synergy and thus be able to compete.
The ICD regime he opined would create an enabling environment for the clearing and forwarding agencies to operate at the hinterland where the ICDs are existing instead of the current system where the agents cluster around the seaports only. "This would drastically minimise rural-urban migration, provide employment in the hinterlands and save man hours usually lost as a result of traffic jam in the urban cities where the seaports are located. As government works towards actualising the ICD dream, he has advised importers based in the hinterlands to gear up to extend the insurance policy on their imported cargoes from port of origin to the ICDs in the hinterland, emphasising that this would also give rise to increased business for the insurance industry. If well implemented, Isichdei is quite hopeful that the ICD regime has the capacity to make Nigeria truly a hub within the West Africa sub-region. He was optimistic that when functional, the ICD would operate to render the seaports truly transit ports and lessen congestion as hinterland bound cargo would immediately be evacuated as soon as they are discharged from the ports.
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