The Federal Government of Nigeria has called on local and international maritime professionals to take full advantage of its Inland Dry Port Initiative, expressing confidence in the immense benefit of the project to the country.
Press Director in the Ministry of Transportation Mr Ogwubuike Henshaw, said in a press statement Tuesday that the Minister of Transportation, Mu’azu Jaji Sambo, made the call at the commissioning of the Dala Inland Dry Port in Kano State.
The minister, according to Henshaw, said that the Inland Dry Ports Projects will help decongest the seaports and also take shipping and port services closer to importers and exporters in the hinterland.
The minister called on national and international maritime practitioners, shippers, shipping companies landlocked countries and port users to take full advantage of the Inland Dry Ports for imports and exports.
According to him, the Inland Dry Port initiative was conceived as part of the Federal Government’s ports reform programme and is to be sited at chosen locations across the country.
He said the six Inland Dry Ports approved by the Federal Executive Council would be concessioned to private sector operators on Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) with the strategic framework to build, own, operate and then transfer the projects to the government.
The minister commended the Buhari administration for its effort at developing critical infrastructure in the country, especially in the transportation sector, adding that such effort will stand as a testimony for future generations.
On the Dala Inland Dry Port at Zawachiki in Kano State, Mu’azu Sambo explained that the State was chosen for the project because of its position as the commercial capital of Northern Nigeria.
He said the Dala Inland Dry Port which was concessioned to Messrs Dala Inland Dry Port Nigeria Limited, will be a Customs port in accordance with the provisions of the Customs and Excise Management Act, Cap. C45 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 and shall have all the prerequisites of an international port.