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By Zika Bobby
The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has granted the Kaduna Inland Dry Port (KIDP) approval to operate a Domestic Export Warehouse (DEW) within its facility
This was conveyed in a letter from the office of the Chief Executive Officer of NEPC, Segun Awolowo, addressed to the Port General Manager, Mr. Rotimi O. Raimi. The Federal Government’s agency for the promotion of non-oil exports said it gave the approbation after extensive deliberations, following its committee’s inspection visits to prospective DEW operators across the country.
According to NEPC, its continued efforts at implementing the Federal Government’s economic diversification programme led to the development of the DEW concept, which is aimed at addressing logistical constraints that are inherent in the export supply chain.
These logistical constraints it said includes: lack of storage facilities, cumbersome export documentation procedures, and port congestion, among others. NEPC explained that the primary aim of the DEW is to serve as a one-stop facility/terminal for appropriate packaging, storage, fumigation, export documentations and pre-shipment inspection of export designated agricultural produce. It added that this would further assist the exporters to conduct their pre-export operations within a single facility, thereby eliminating the logistical constraints associated with non-oil exports.
“The implementation of the DEW initiative is a collaborative effort of the export related agencies, with the formation of the DEW Inter-Agency Committee which is responsible for assessing the suitability, readiness, state of facility, etc., of applicants who expressed interest to operate DEW facilities,” the council said. Reacting to the development, Port General Manager of KIDP, Mr Rotimi Raimi-Hassan said as the first dry port in Nigeria, KIDP will continue in offering value added services and support to it’s users. He added that the DEW offer would be a boost to the existing benefits exporters have been enjoying from KIDP, while assuring that the service quality would continue to increase.
