The Nigeria Shippers Council has launched an operational manual for Inland Dry Ports to enhance efficiency at Inland Dry ports in the country.
Launching the manual on Thursday in Kano, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers Council, Mr Emmanuel Jime, said that the manual would address operational gaps, and boost transparency and accountability in the sector.
He said that the operating manual which would be launched in Kano, Port Harcourt and Lagos respectively provide detailed processes and procedures for the main activities of the Inland Dry Ports.
“The strategic importance of producing the manual which articulates the step-by-step procedures for receiving, storing, handling and delivery of cargoes as well as highlighting the operations, the responsibilities of agencies and timeline for discharging such tasks was sine-qua-non,” he said.
Represented by Director Inland Transport Service, Philip Eduwa, said the operators and the regulators are compelled to abide by the operational processes as contained in the manual.
The NSC boss explained that the activities in the operational manual include, container import by rail, container export by rail, container import by truck, container export by truck, customs controls and empty container storage.
Jime added that the manual specifically described the functions and activities of the dry ports, layout design and align dry ports operations to international best practices.
According to Jime, the manual will be used as a measure of performance by the regulator and will be subjected to future review.
He said that the Inland Dry Ports projects were conceived as part of Federal Governments reform programs in the transport sector to promote efficient transportation and engender trade facilitation.
Jime said that the Federal Executive Council granted approval for the establishment of Inland Dry Ports in March 2006 at six locations across the country.
He named the ports as; Isiala-Ngwa Abia State, Erunmu Oyo state, Heipang Plateau state, Funtua Katsina state, Maiduguri Borno state and Dala, Kano State which would be commissioned very soon.
The Executive Secretary then restates the commitment of his agency and the federal ministry of transport to providing the enabling environment for dry ports projects nationwide in order to operate optimally.
Earlier, the representative of the minister of transport, Ewoche Victor a deputy director in the ministry, said that the projects were developed through Public Private Partnership using the build, own, operate and transfer (BOOT) model.
He said that the manual was based on best international practices adapted to the local Nigerian context, but not fully customized for each port and each dry would have its own specialities.
The minister noted that the effective operations of a dry port require seamless coordination between the seaport and other key stakeholders involved in port operations.
He said that the launching of the manual was a milestone in the successful development and operations of the IDP project in Nigeria.
