There seems to be a solution to the congestion of Apapa and Tin-Can Island ports as a private offdock terminal, Jakys Nigeria Limited has berthed 32,000 square metres at Ijegun area of Satellite Town, Lagos.
With about 32,000 square metres, the terminal is expected to accommodate over 5,000 containers, and about 25 trucks loading at the same time, thereby easing the Apapa and Tin Can Island Port congestion.
In a chat with LEADERSHIP, the managing director and chief executive of Jakys Nigeria Limited, Henry Muogho, said the terminal is 90 per cent completed and has commenced test running about eight months ago. Also, it has gradually started taking away the pressure from the ever-busy Lagos port roads and bridges
He explained that the terminal is accessible by barges from any of the port terminals, while trucks come in through the roads to evacuate the containers around Satellite Town, Lagos.
Muogho, while conducting officials of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) on an inspection of the facility in Lagos last week, said 23,000 square meters of the terminal is already being utilised by barges, transferring loaded containers and taking off empty containers.
He said the terminal was leased to Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC Shipping) and its logistics arm; Medlog with a lease agreement of five years.
According to him, the terminal is a throughput terminal dedicated for only MSC containers, adding that no third party containers are allowed to come into the terminal.
He said, “Here is going to be like a throughput jetty, no third party containers are allowed to come in here, as you can see, it is only MSC containers that we have here, this means there is also a call-up system for trucks to come in here.
“We have an MoU with the community that made us build the roads, this was part of the lease agreement with MSC and Medlog. Trucks that are coming here would not be parking on the road, therefore, the nuisance value that we have at other ports and terminals, I don’t want to import them here.”
He explained that the condition for liaising with Medlog and MSC Shipping was that first, they must have a truck park, and they already have it for all their trucks coming to pick cargoes at the terminal.
According to him “You cannot see any truck parked on the roads. And in the case of a truck breaking down, two hours were given to them to move the truck.
He described the project as a triple plan withholding bays and truck parks being within the same vicinity.
He explained that there is a call-up system from the truck park around Trade Fair Complex along Badagry expressway to the bonded warehouse. There is also a call-up system between the jetty and the bonded warehouse.
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