In order to increase Nigeria’s competitiveness and efficiency, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mohammed Bello-Koko, has tasked stakeholders with expanding the shipping industry beyond simple vessel and cargo handling and investigating opportunities in bunkering, insurance, hinterland connectivity, and other services.
In his paper titled “Nigeria and the Evolving New Port Order,” Bello-Koko made this claim at the Association of Maritime Journalists of Nigeria (AMJON) annual conference and awards ceremony in Lagos.
Bello-Koko emphasized that the low utilization of opportunities offered by both downstream and upstream operations in maritime is one reason the sector hasn’t made a significant contribution to the economy. She was represented by the General Manager, Corporate and Strategic Communication, Oluyemisi Oyinlola.
He asserts that maritime activities are divided into upstream activities such as insurance, connectivity, logistics, and shipping, and downstream operations such as port operation and bunkering. According to him, Nigeria simply manages the port operation part of downstream operations, which isn’t even ideal because of various inherent difficulties.
According to the NPA helmsman, the shipping business is a big and complex one that is continually impacted by trends throughout the world and technological advancements. He said that because of its complexity and need to boost its cost- and competitiveness, it must constantly develop and adapt.
The issue, according to him, was Nigeria’s ability to keep up with emerging trends in shipping, such as the use of digital sensoring to monitor ships, larger megaships, more environmentally friendly shipping, and the use of renewable energy to power fleets in the future.
In order to reposition the nation’s ports for competitiveness, according to Bello-Koko, NPA has launched a number of initiatives to facilitate trade through the sea, including the ongoing rehabilitation of port access roads to improve hinterland connectivity and rail linkage to Lagos Port Complex, intended to address the pervasive gridlock and facilitate cargo evacuation.
He added that there are plans to launch the Port Community System (PCS) establishment process with assistance from the Federal Ministry of Transportation and technical guidance from the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
According to Bello-Koko, the system will bring together all relevant parties in the port sector to promote ease of doing business in the ports.
The operator’s job, according to him, is to put the port in a competitive position with an emphasis on high-quality services and reasonable pricing, as these support trade facilitation, which would ultimately promote economic growth.
