FG’s silence on wastages, demurrage rise on Apapa gridlock worrisome—Port users
Observed silence of the federal government on the plights of both Apapa and Tincan ports users since the commencement of reconstruction of the Wharf road has attracted the anger of stakeholders in the shipping industry.
The summary of their grievances is that the cost of doing business has risen far above 500 per cent as well over N1.5bn is being lost daily on transportation, storage charges and container deposits to delays in cargo evacuation at the ports.
For example, due to the increased inconveniences faced by trailer owners in entering and leaving the ports, charges for transporting a 40-foot container from the port to any destination within Lagos have jumped from N40,000 a few weeks ago to over N200,000.
Survey also showed that charges for container trailers leaving Lagos for upland states now charge from usual N60,000 to about N300,000.
Business Hilights recalls that the stakeholders had on resumption of the road repairs called for additional moratorium on days before surcharge on demurrage, but government had consistently maintained sealed lips to their agitation.
The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola had on resumption of construction activities announced that Wharf road will be partially closed down for one year for the work and intense gridlock on the road started with the reconstruction activities, thus forcing port stakeholders to press for rebate in form of more days of grace before demurrage surcharge at the ports.
In his comments, founder of National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) , Dr. Boniface Aniebonam, said “The fares have increased because it takes the vehicle owners up to four days to pick up the containers”.
“There is a huge amount of time lost and time is money. I have pending business at the port but I cannot go there because I cannot climb a motor bike at this stage in my life.
Giving a graphic analogy of the scenario that plays out daily, the Coordinator of the Save Nigeria Freight Forwarders (SNFF), Mr. Osita Chukwu, said “When you go to pick up your cargo, you pay a deposit and you are expected to return the container the following day and have your deposit refunded to you; but when you fail to return it, the deposit is deducted on a daily basis; and if you end up spending four or five days on the road, the deposit is deducted and you may end up not getting any refund”.
“This is what has been happening to some of us. Some containers stay up to one week on the road and if someone has up to 30 containers, he will lose money on all of them.”
“Demurrage charges, which reportedly hit N6.7bn in June, have also continued to increase as the situation goes from bad to worse, stakeholders have said.
Another angle of anger is the trapping of released cargoes at the ports due to bad road. According to the head of International Freight Forwarders Association (IFFA), PTML Chapter, Mr. Sunday Nnebe, “on the average, cargo owners were parting with N25,000 per container daily for cargoes trapped at the ports”.
