Habbas Multiventures Limited (HML), Nigeria’s first vehicle bonded terminal has commenced the business of clearing general cargoes.
Terminal number allotted by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is C001/2019 located at No 71/85 Maiduguri Road, Jido, Rijiyar Gon Gon Village, Kano.
This move has further helped to actualise the government’s desire of bringing maritime activities and services closer to non coastal states across the country, especially in the north.
Seated in the commercial city of Kano, HML has within a short period demonstrated compliance with customs clearing procedures which culminated to its approval by Customs to fully operate as a vehicle bonded terminal.
It had received a letter of ‘Final Approval’ from the Licenses and Permits Directorate of Nigeria Customs Service to commence operation as the first private vehicle terminal in Nigeria.
The company’s Managing Director, Alhaji Hamisu Abba Sumaila told Daily Trust that HML hopes to become the alternative to accessing port services in Kano and other neighbor states
According to Sumaila, excellent service delivery starting from safe movements of cargoes from ports in Lagos, Portharcourt and other parts of the country to the HML facility in Kano has been perfected.
He added that the company’s initial movement of Roll on Roll off (RORO) cargoes to Kano with 99 per cent successes has convinced him that more could be achieved to provide job opportunities, bring imported cargoes, accept export cargoes and empty containers.
Sumaila said “Our reason for adding general cargoes to our line of business is to add more value to people and businesses that rely on our services. Having a vehicle terminal is good but doing more than that is better.
“With this, our terminal will be offering something closer to port services, directly responding to importers and exporters needs and bringing more life to the entire value chain.
“I must commend the Nigeria Customs Service for being responsive to our demand by granting our approvals to go this far. The quality presence of their personnel has in great measure, assisted in facilitating cargo processes.
“In days to come, we shall be stepping up engagements with the organised and not too organised private sector to urge them to maximise the potentials of our facility. We shall be engaging the Kano Chamber of Commerce and other trade groups that use port services.
“Trading hubs, market associations and individual business people are not left out in our outreach because we are deploying multilingual advantage to interact with our business stakeholders. Our strata of conversation touches on the high, middle and low end operators in business who need port services, by extension HML services.
“As a matter of importance, I must emphasise that Habbas Multiservices Limited is not exclusive to one state because we bespoke to serving states around with our eyes in the entire northern part of the country where there is no seaport.
“Our cargo handling capacity with machines has been enhanced and will continue to receive a boost for improvement. This aspect of our operations deals with the optimisation of man and machines with our target on efficiency,” Sumaila said.
After receiving the final approval to operate as Nigeria’s first vehicle bonded terminal domiciled in Kano, the company stepped up in helping to spread it’s port services to the knowledge of all that should know.
Sumaila described the final approval as a mark of confidence reposed on Habbas Multiventures, promising that the company will strive to justify it and add value to the national economy through its terminal in the area of automobile business.
“We are happy that after an earlier provisional approval, followed by inspection visit to our terminal facility in Kano, management of Nigeria Customs Service have found us worthy for this final approval
“Our entire staff members are ready and willing to offer world class service in a Nigerian environment for vehicle purchase, sales and be of resource to importers of vehicular cargoes destined for the northern part of the country.
“With this approval, we can now strengthen our move to ship in vehicles by sea and air into our facility taking advantage of the unique privilege of paying duty and other charges later, as approved by the government.
The company’s venture into the business is in response to the 2017 Federal Government ban on importation of vehicles through land borders and approval for the creation of private car terminals to meet local demand.
It is pursuing a seamless and hitch-free vehicle sales and purchase business with flawless documentation and perfect completion of Customs formalities including duty payment.
Sumaila had earlier disclosed that no fewer than 1,000 direct and indirect jobs would be created in the from the company’s take off with vehicle importation and sales
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 as well as uninterrupted power supply.
Under its arrangement with the government, vehicles destined for the terminal will exit ports of discharge to the Kano terminal before duties are paid after the stipulated period.
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