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Stories by Isaac Anumihe
Since the end of the 10-year concession of Lilypond Terminal last year, coupled with the pulling out of the concessionaire, residents and stakeholders have been calling on the authorities to return the facility to a holding bay for heavy duty vehicles.
They argued that converting Lilypond to a truckpark will reduce the riotous traffic gridlock at the Ijora end of the road.
The manager of Lilypond Terminal, Mr. Tristram Denyer, had earlier announced the withdrawal of his company from the agreement hinging their action on the protracted losses being incurred by the company as a result of poor availability of containers.
He said that even though the company had invested over $15 million about (N2.4 billion) in developing the facility since it won the concession in 2006, the business model upon which the concession was granted can no longer be sustained.
The development, according to Denyer, had occasioned a colossal monthly loss of over $5 million (about N800 million) which is now unbearable, hence the pull-out, before the expiration of the 10 years concession agreement.
He said that the company had notified Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) management of its decisions to embark on the gradual withdrawal which would ultimately take effect within the next six months.
However, since the exit of the company, the facility has been under the management of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA). It is against this backdrop that the chairman, Seaport Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria (STOAN), Vicky Haastrup called on the authorities to convert the terminal to a holding bay. He condemned the idea of concessioning the facility which used to accommodate over 7,000 trucks.
Also a resident of Ijora, Mr Nicholas Ibe said that the haphazard parking of trucks by drivers has made the area unbearable for them as they no longer drive their cars due to traffic gridlock and bad roads. He, therefore, suggested that the terminal be converted to a truckpark to reduce the traffic menace.
But the Nigerian Importers Integrity Association (NIIA) has kicked against the call, saying that Lilypond does not have the capacity to serve as a truckpark.
President of the group, Godwin Onyekazi, argued that using Lilypond as a truckpark will compound traffic gridlock in the Apapa area.
“Lilypond is a container depot. It was established as an overflow facility and it is now also being used as an export-processing centre from where government intends to boost agricultural export.
“Recently, the Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh, was at Lilypond to flag off yam export. So, in addition to being an overflow container depot, it is also an export-processing centre and we all know that this type of centre is important in Nigeria’s revenue-diversification drive.” he said.
Also, a freight forwarder, Mr Olusegun Ologbese, condemned the conversion call. For him, drivers can turn it to their mechanic workshop. He said that Lilypond was created to decongest the Apapa Port. He advised the authorities look for an alternative means of tackling the gridlock on the roads.
“They (truck drivers) are not different from ‘molue’ drivers or ‘danfo’ drivers. If they give the trailer drivers the place they will turn it to their workshop. The Lilypond Terminal was created to help the Apapa Port when there is congestion in the Apapa Port” he said.
In the same vein, the publisher of The Journal and a maritime analyst, Aniemu, insisted that Lilypond Terminal should remain as a container depot to decongest Apapa Port or any other neigbouring port.
“Lilypond is like a dry port. It is like an inland container depot where you take the containers that should have been cleared in Apapa thereby decongesting Apapa Port or any other neigbouring port. People who clear their goods from Lilypond are saved from the stress of travelling out of the chaotic Apapa traffic. Even before we had this road problem, Apapa had always suffered traffic issues. We have had port congestion as far back as 15 years ago. So, Lilypond serves a purpose of helping to decongest the port. And I make bold to say that the purpose for which it was established is in need. If there is any time we need an alternative outlet for quick cargo clearance, it is now. Government made blunders here by selling off all the likely parking spaces under the guise of port concession. Now they want to go and use critical infrastructure like Lilypond Terminal for vehicle park. What now happens to hundreds and thousands of containers that should have been in Lilypond? It means they will now be cleared in Apapa. You have not solved any problem. Even when the roads leading to the ports were good, there was traffic congestion. When the roads were better than what it is now, we had congestion at the ports. If you convert the Lilypond Terminal to a trailerpark, you have only succeeded in pretending to solve one problem and you have created more problems.
“In conclusion we need to give the government the solution to addressing this hydra-headed challenge. The Apapa Port is linked to rail. They should make the rail work. The government made a transportation planning blunder by designing Tin Can Port without link to rail. I make bold to say that 50 years to come, the traffic problem you have along Oshodi Expressway through usage of Tin Can Port will always be there except you link it to rail,” he said.
