By Steve Agbota
Despite the hype about the phenomenal offerings of the $1.5 billion Lekki deep seaport and other terminals in Nigeria, no Nigerian port made the top 100 ports in the recent global ranking by Lloyd’s List Intelligence.
Asides the Lekki deep seaport, Nigeria has numerous sea terminals like; Apapa port, Tin Can Island port, Calabar port, Warri port, Port Harcourt port, among others.
According to Lloyd’s List Intelligence, port of Lome, Togo has once again beaten Nigerian ports to be included in the list. It was ranked number 94 out of 100 busiest and largest ports in the world.
The port also ranked 94th in 2023, against 96th in 2022. It is the third consecutive year the port has been featured in the ranking index. The Togolese port was the only West African port featured in the top 100.
However, Lloyd’s List Intelligence revealed that nine of the world’s 10 largest ports are in Asia, with six of them in China. China maintained its dominance in the container sector, accounting for approximately 40 per cent of total cargo handled by the top 100 ports.
In the top 10 ranking index, Port of Shanghai, China occupied number one position, Singapore port ranked second, port of Ningbo-Zhoushan, China ranked third, port of Shenzhen, China ranked 4th, port of Qingdao, China ranked 5th, port of Guangzhou, China ranked 6th, port of Busan, South Korea ranked 7th, port of Tianjin, China ranked 8th, port of Hong Kong, China ranked while port of Rotterdam, Netherlands ranked 10th respectively.
There are concerns that no Nigerian port was featured in the ranking for the third consecutive year despite being an import dependent nation and the largest economy in West Africa.
However, Daily Sun learnt that inefficient ports continue to be a bane for the country’s declining trade and the authorities have refused to address this exasperating challenge which has led to growing diversion of ships and cargoes to neighbouring countries, notably Cotonou port in Benin Republic, port of Lome in Togo and port of Tema in Ghana.
Stakeholders said they were not surprised that none of the Nigerian port makes top 100 largest and busiest ports in the world. They said Government has not really pay attention to the nation’s ports when it comes to investment and infrastructural development.
One of the port operators in the eastern port who spoke on the condition of anonymity said that to enhance the competitiveness of Nigerian ports and accommodate larger vessels, significant investments in both capital and maintenance dredging of channels are imperative.
He said a disheartening observation is the absence of Nigerian ports among the top 100 globally for cargo throughput, revealing a stark lack of capacity to compete, saying this underscores the pressing need for strategic governmental initiatives.
“Another challenge pertains to the multitude of agencies within ports, causing bottlenecks and intense competition among them. Streamlining the number of agencies operating within ports is essential to improve efficiency. Additionally, addressing the issue of equipment, particularly in the realm of cargo inspection, is crucial.
“The prevalence of physical inspection over electronic methods raises concerns. A potential solution lies in the implementation of hybrid scanning machines that cater to the diverse information needs of various agencies, thus eliminating the need for duplication and reducing waiting times. Furthermore, the efficiency of cargo flow is hampered by challenges beyond the port environment, such as congested roads. Investing in the development of roads outside the port is crucial to prevent traffic congestion and delays in cargo transportation. Logistics issues, like those witnessed in Apapa and Calabar, highlight the impact of inadequate infrastructure on local logistics costs,” he said.