In a move to alleviate congestion and free up valuable space at Nigeria’s ports, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has announced its intention to auction containers that have exceeded their required time at the ports.
This was disclosed in a statement by Mrs Josephine Moltok, General Manager, Corporate and Strategic Communications, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) in Lagos.
The decision was made following a comprehensive sensitization campaign involving shipping lines, freight forwarders, and clearing agents.
The planned auction aims to streamline operations and enhance efficiency within Nigeria’s port facilities.
The decongestion of the ports to enable efficient operations came after the June 23 inter-agency team on an assessment tour led by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Transportation, Dr Magdelene Ajani, adding: “The team comprising of the NPA, the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) and the Nigerian Shippers’ Council made an assessment tour of overtime cargoes littering the ports.
“The Lagos and Tincan Island Port Complexes and the Terminals therein including Ikorodu Lighter Terminal have over the years been occupied with 3,200 units of overtime cars and about 3,295 units of overtime containers respectively.”