By Isaac Anumihe

Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) yesterday said that it has so far committed N1.8 billion to the reconstruction of the Wharf Road and contractors from Messers AG Dangote Construction Company were  mobilised to site since July 2017.
Assistant General Manager, Public Affairs of the authority, Mr. Ibrahim Nasiru, said in a statement that, as a result, the stretch of road for the outbound lane (Ijora Bridge-Barracks Junction) has been condoned off as work has commenced.
In anticipation of the congestion the current reconstruction was bound to cause, the Managing Director of NPA, Ms Hadiza Bala Usman, set up a committee chaired by the General Manager, Western Ports on the decongestion of port roads.
“This committee included representatives of the Lagos State government, the Federal Road Safety Corps, Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, Ports Police Command, and Department of State Security Services and other major stakeholders including truckers as mainly represented by the Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMARTO).
“To further alleviate the envisaged congestion, the authority awarded the contract for palliative works on Creek Road to Messers CGC Nigeria Limited,” he said, adding that palliative works were carried out on the damaged portion of the roadway and it’s  now designated an alternative route in and out of the Lagos Port Complex.  Nasiru noted that further repair works were equally carried out on other alternative routes around the corridor in realisation of the need for a feeder route to relieve pressure on Wharf Road during construction.
“General Manager of  NPA, Western Zone, heads a committee of all terminal operators, millers and other stakeholders which worked to fashion out ways of fixing the Tin Can axis route with enduring palliative works while the Wharf Road construction is ongoing,” he said.
The General Manager also highlighted the identification and location of a number of privately-owned sites suitable to accommodate a minimum of 6,000 trucks as a major achievement of the committee.
“To ensure that this initiative does not run into any institutional impediments, the committee engaged land owners in the area and has established contacts with the Lagos State government,” the statement said, noting that the authority is also exploring the feasibility of deploying multimodal cargo haulage around the Apapa axis.
“To this end, talks are on with the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) to encourage movement of cargo by rail to and from Apapa Ports to increase the frequency of evacuation since one train movement is equal to about 70 truck movements. The authority has also got approval for the movement of cargo by barges over water as alternative to road transportation. NPA is, therefore, not just  working towards reducing congestion but to also ensure that less pressure is put on the roads by enhancing opportunities to use other modes of transportation,” Nasiru explained.

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