Concession of cargo handling activities at the port to reputable commercial terminal operators via the Federal Government’s port concession initiative has improved efficiency and provided other substantial advantages to the Nigeria port. The port concession scheme has saved the government nearly $8.5 billion (N3.91 trillion) which has so far been used as congestion fee payments to international shipping lines, according to Vicky Haastrup, chairperson of the Seaports Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria (STOAN).
Haastrup made this known to the press after Frederik Klinke, the new national managing director of APM Terminals Nigeria, paid her a courtesy visit. She asserts that concessionaires are prepared to increase investment in the port once impending concession agreements are extended. Terminal operators have made massive investments in the six major seaports around the nation, amounting to billions of dollars, she said, and these savings generated have had a significant impact on the economy.
Port concession has saved Nigeria’s business sector $8.5 billion.
She claims that the port concession plan in Nigeria has been a huge success. As a matter of fact, several other African nations sent representatives to Nigeria to learn about the country’s port concession system and how it has helped the country significantly improve investment and efficiency in a short amount of time. According to her, this exemplifies the optimistic outlook of Nigerians. From an average of 45 days before the port concession program was introduced in 2006, wait times for arriving boats have been cut to less than three days presently.
In addition, the concession program has helped to rid off the egregious congestion surcharge that was formerly levied by major shipping lines on Nigerian ports under the Europe-West Africa Trade Agreement (EWATA). Hence, the 17-year port concession period has saved Nigeria’s business sector $8.5 billion, or $500 million annually, by eliminating the port congestion surcharge. Haastrup said that private investment in port expansion was made possible by the concession and this has freed up government funds for other national development initiatives.
Companies seeking renewal are to demonstrate adequate performance.
The STOAN Chairman also noted that the port concession has helped modernize the country’s seaports, increased the availability of cargo handling equipment, boosted competition between terminal operators, enhanced the welfare and training of port workers, and established a condition of service for dockworkers. According to Haastrup, before the port concession system, dockworkers were regarded as casual workers with no guarantees of employment. With the advent of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) to safeguard their wellbeing, this paradigm has undergone a major change.
Furthermore, Haastrup suggested that the Nigerian government expedite the renewal of port concession agreements so that terminal operators may invest additional funds into the port, making it more competitive. However, companies seeking renewal of ports concession agreements are required by the federal government to demonstrate adequate performance in order to continue operating at the ports. The effectiveness of port operations, the volume of cargo traffic, and the quality of income were all objectives of the port reforms that would be taken into account during the renewal of concession agreements.
APM Terminals assures improved efforts to the efficiency of the ports.
Frederik Klinke, the national managing director of APM Terminals Nigeria, said in a recent interview that the company would continue to innovate in the area of port management in Nigeria and give help to the plan that the Federal Government is pursuing to increase non-oil exports. In addition to this, he assured the STOAN Chairman that APM Terminals would provide support for the association efforts to improve the efficiency of the ports in the country.
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Port concession yield N3.9tn to the economy. – Terminal operators have made massive investments in the six major seaports. – Express your point of view.
I completely support the concession of the sea port which is now of great advantage to Nigeria economy otherwise if left in the hand of government workers it wouldn’t yielded that amount because theu’re bad managers.
The ports in Nigeria are remitting a lot of funds into the federal government pocket. We should do well to take care of these ports. The ones that needs development should be developed to ease pressure on others.
A port concession involves the transfer of operational control of a port from a government or public agency to a private sector operator under terms agreed upon in a contract. The private operator is responsible for the day-to-day running of the port facilities, including investments in new equipment, maintenance,upgrades has contributed to the growth of the Nigerian economy in several ways. The port concession has yielded significant benefits to the Nigerian economy, including increased revenue generation, private sector investment, and reduced government expenditure. However, there is still room for improvement in the areas of port infrastructure, service delivery, and regulatory oversight to ensure continued growth and sustainability of the sector.
The concession of the Nigeria port is a thoughtful idea that has yielded N3.9tn to our economy and has positively impacted six major seaport in Nigeria.
The seaport is really bring fund to the country improving our economy we should be taken care of what is bring money in for us
Port concession yield N3.9tn to the economy. Seaport has been one of major revenue. Nigeria so much depends on importation. So a lot of goods are being imported to Nigeria
Our seaport is improving well we should continue investing more in it, it is generate more money for the country more support should be given
Just imagine the huge amount the port concession program has yielded to the economy. Government should hasten the concession agreement renewal to enable more investment.
Under the provisions of a port concession agreement, government or public agency control of a port is transferred to a private sector operator.
This port concession program had been a blessing to the Nigeria port bring about progress, development and prosperity and contribution to the country.
I doubt the port will yield so much like that if it had been unde the government because they will not put in much investment as the private operators gave done.
The Nigerian ports are a major source of revenue for the federal government. We would be wise to maintain these entry points. The ones that are lacking should be strengthened to relieve the burden on everyone else.
The port is one of the biggest sector that normally generate income or revenue for the federal government and this is so because any country that want to grow need to have tangible something to export so as to generate revenue for the government
If the government had run the port instead of private companies, I doubt it would have had the same results.