The gridlock currently being witnessed at Tin-can Island Port, Apapa, Lagos, has driven up the cost of trucking consignments from the port to other parts of Lagos by over 100 percent.
The cost of trucking consignments from Tin-can to Ikeja about two to three months ago used to be between N400,000 and N600,000 but with the worsening traffic situation, trucking cost to the same destination has gone up to between N1.2 million and N1.6 million.
A trucker who operates at Tin-can port and an executive of Bateru General Agencies Limited, Yinka Aroyewun, in an interview with Vanguard, said that the trucking cost has continued to rise because of the difficulties associated with entry and exit at the port.
Aroyewun who confirmed to Vanguard that the cost could be up to N2 million in some instances, said the development should not be blamed on truckers. He explained that once a truck exits the port, it cannot get back until after a month.
He attributed the long period it takes to get back to the port to both the actions of shipping lines and the gridlock. He noted that after dropping the consignment, a truck will not only go through a hard time to get to the holding bay of the shipping line, but will have to cough out between N100,000 to N150,000 (depending on the company) to be allowed to drop the empty container.
According to him, “The terminal operators are not receiving empty containers.
“If you are able to load from the port, that may be the only job you will do for the whole month. After discharging the consignment, you will have to pay between N100,000 to N150,000 to the shipping lines for them to accept the empty container at their holding bay.’’
Former National Publicity Secretary of the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents, ANLCA, Joe Sanni, pointed out that lack of rail, roads, water transportation is another challenge facing the movement of goods in Nigeria, saying that it needs 24/7 work in progress attention.
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