North gets first private vehicle bonded terminal

Zika Bobby

A wholly indigenous firm has ventured into making vehicle dealership and ownership easier in the country with the establishment of Nigeria’s first car bonded terminal in Kano.

The bold initiative by Habbas Multiventures Limited was in response to the Federal Government’s ban on importation of vehicles through land borders into Nigeria in 2017 and approval for the creation of private car terminals to meet local demands for imported vehicles.

The company’s Managing Director, Hamisu Abba Sumaila, said that no fewer than 1,000 direct and indirect jobs would be created in the next 12 months from the company’s investment poised to contribute in making Kano a hub for vehicle purchase across proximate northern states and other parts of the country. 

The terminal, according to him, will serve a better purpose than what the hitherto popular Cotonou car market was serving to Nigerians as it holds the space, enabling business environment, proximity to northern states and adequate security for dealers and buyers, with uninterrupted power supply. 

Sumaila said that with his company’s intervention, nothing should attract Nigerians into the illicit business of smuggling vehicles across borders into the country, adding that this would now provide markets for legitimate transactions and reduce travel stress, risks, dangers and embarrassment associated with going to buy single units of vehicles in foreign countries.

He added that the facility and initiative is also an economic resource for Nigerians in the diaspora who are desirous of shipping vehicles from abroad to the country for sale and other business purposes.

According to him, the company’s preliminary research reveals that prior to the government policy banning car importation through land borders, many Nigerians from the North were traveling to Benin Republic to buy vehicles.

Sumaila also said the company is opening talks with vehicle importers and marketers wishing to extend their business presence to the northern states, urging them to maximise the copious benefits of the terminal.

Located at Judo, Rijiyar Gwangwan District of Dawakin Kudu Local Government Area of Kano State, Sumaila said the terminal presently sits on four hectares land with a reservation of five hectares for prospects of expansion.