Matthew Otoijagha
The Nigerian Shippers Council, NSC, has said it will deploy the Truck Transit Parks, TTP, project with Electronic Call-Up System, ECUPS, to end the endemic traffic gridlock which has locked down Lagos in the last few weeks.
Executive Secretary of the Council, Mr. Hassan Bello, made this known at the Second Quarter, 2018 (Q2’18) Public Private Partnership Unit Consultative Forum, 3PUCF, meeting in Abuja.
Bello who was represented by Mr. Ekpeyon Eke, noted that the initiatives would be delivered by way of Public Private Partnership, PPP, without putting a strain on government finances. Bello said feasibility studies had been conducted for the establishment of the TTP in Porto Novo Creek in Lagos and other locations across the country, noting that when completed, the facility in Lagos would not only decongest Apapa, but also provide short-term resting place for truck drivers waiting to load cargo.
“Nigeria’s infrastructure needs are critical, but the Public Private Partnership model of projects delivery is the way to go. Upon completion of our various TTPs, they will have provisions for short-term breaks and long-term parking services where truck drivers can get fuel, food, restrooms, shower and basic supplies like oil and spare parts, as well as, servicing and repairs of haulage vehicles.”
Other locations of the proposed TTPs, according to the NSC boss, are Lokoja (Kogi State); Obollo-Afor (Enugu State); Jebba (Kwara State); Ore (Ondo State); Ogere (Ogun State); Onitsha (Anambra State) and Mararaban Jos (Kaduna State).
He said since the creation of the PPP unit at the NSC in 2015, many projects have been initiated which are at various stages of completion. Bello explained that the Kaduna Inland Dry Port, an erstwhile Inland Container Depot upgraded to the status of an Inland Dry Port and commissioned by President Muhammadu Buhari on January 4, 2018, was an initiative of the NSC, with the combined effort of ICNL Ltd and the Kaduna State Government and guided through the PPP process by the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC).
The TTP, a novel initiative of the NSC will have the following facilities: Gas Station, Hotel and Motel, Restaurants, Mechanic Workshop, Fire Station, Police Post, Automated Cargo Tracking System.