By Steve Agbota
Investors have raised concerns that over ₦3.5 trillion invested in bonded terminals across Nigeria is under threat.
Speaking at the maiden Portnews Summit 2024 in Lagos, themed ‘Port Reforms and Local Content: Has Nigeria Fared Well?’, the Association of Bonded Terminal Operators (ABTO) attributed the issue to poor integration of local content into the Federal Government’s 2006 port concession policy.
Haruna Omolajomo, General Secretary of ABTO and Managing Director of Harsecom Logistics Limited, highlighted the declining state of bonded terminal operations. He noted that from 2001 to 2008, bonded terminals contributed over ₦1 billion annually to government revenue and operated at 80–100% capacity. Today, their contribution has dropped to ₦300 million per year, with many facilities operating at less than 5% capacity or abandoned altogether.
Using the Dala Inland Dry Port as an example, Omolajomo revealed that despite its ₦500 billion investment and 25,000-container capacity, it has yet to handle any containers since completion. He also lamented the exclusion of bonded terminal operators since the 2006 concessions, which prioritised foreign concessionaires offering door-to-door services.
Omolajomo described this exclusion as economic sabotage, noting that five bonded terminal operators active in 2006 have since shut down due to crippling debts. He warned that bonded terminal operations in Nigeria could become extinct if immediate action is not taken.
“The port reforms failed to translate into the growth of local content. Instead, it’s a case of economic recolonisation,” he stated.
He called on the Federal Government to review its agreements with concessionaires to protect indigenous operators and local content.
Earlier, Wale Oni, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of PortNews, underscored the significance of off-dock terminals and Inland Container Depots (ICDs), which helped alleviate port congestion. However, he criticised the 2004–2006 reforms under ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo for marginalising Nigerian-owned bonded terminals and ICDs.
Oni cited the Dala Inland Container Depot in Kano, which boasts state-of-the-art infrastructure and rail connectivity, yet has remained unused 18 months after commissioning. He lamented the cessation of container transfers to local facilities, leaving Nigerian operators sidelined in an industry they once dominated.