Stakeholders have met in Lagos and agreed on a number of measures to tackle Apapa gridlock, port congestion and other problems its environs.
They met with the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, on Thursday in Lagos who called for the collaboration of all of them to face the lingering crisis in the area.
Among those at the meeting were the three financiers of the ongoing Apapa Wharf Road reconstruction project in Surulere – G Dangote Construction Company Ltd, Flour Mills of Nigeria Ltd and Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).
Others were National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO) and National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), among others.
The stakeholders, after extensive deliberations, agreed to resolve issues of logistics and regulation of truckers and port operations.
They called on shipping companies to return to the system of using their loading bays and effective call up systems to end port congestions.
They also advised AP Molar Multi Terminal (APMT), whose cargo operations take hours to emulate the operations of Port Terminal Multipurpose Ltd (PTML) who have perfected the act of evacuating cargo within minutes.
They agreed that emergency interventions should be carried out on the roads around Coconut Bus Stop area and some other bad portions.
They resolved to have another inclusive meeting to carry shippers, government regulatory agencies and other stakeholders who were absent at the gathering along to evolve permanent solutions.
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Fashola advised the stakeholders to organise forums where they could proffer solution to the problems and make recommendations to government to speed up solutions on various issues.
The minister stressed the need to put other ports in the country to use to reduce pressure on the two major ports in Apapa and promised to work with his transport counterpart, Mr. Rotimi Amechi, to involve the rail sector in finding solutions.
He called for sacrifice on the part of the various stakeholders as the yuletide season is approaching to ensure speedy solution to all the problems.
“During this period when everybody is sacrificing something, let us sacrifice, it is an exchange, everybody must sacrifice.
“This is not about us, it is about everybody,” he told stakeholders.
He explained that procurement process for the Oshodi Tin Can Island road was ongoing.
Earlier, Fashola had inspected ongoing rehabilitation works at Costain and its environs, which he told journalists was to ensure smooth roads during the festive period.
Honorary adviser to the Dangote Group, Mr Joseph Makoju, said that Dangote was handling and co-funding the Apapa Wharf Road reconstruction project as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
Makoju said that it was painful that the project was being misunderstood by both the public and a section of the media who make negative remarks against the Dangote Group instead of commending it for giving back to society.
He explained that the Dangote Group also suffered from the problems of gridlock and other problems caused by port congestions as it affected their businesses and operations as well.
He added that the company was ready to tackle all problems that related to the construction raised at the forum and deliver the project within one year.
