President of Barge Operators Association of Nigeria (BOAN), Edeme Kelikume Monday said about one million containers were ferried by barge in just one year by members.
Kelikume said aside from containers, over 25,000 trucks and 500,000 metric tons of general cargo were also moved from the Lagos ports by barges annually.
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The president of BOAN who disclosed this during the association’s maiden annual conference in Lagos revealed that over 50, 000 trucks were also ferried across the Lagos waters while 25, 000 cars imported into the country were moved from the port by barges to their various temporary destinations yearly.
He said: “We all know today how difficult it is to raise financing locally and here we are as local operators competing with international operators.
“So, we believe the cabotage fund and similar funds that are being held by various organisations are a veritable tool that will stimulate the growth of this sector into the next level of development.”
The BOAN President however called on terminal operators to create a dedicated berthing facility for barges especially for export cargo in line with the government’s agenda of diversifying the economy and promoting non-oil exports.
“We are also praying that the terminal operators will see barging as a necessity in their development. For every vessel that comes into the country, there is a need for you to evacuate the cargo on the vessel.
“It has been well documented and demonstrated in the past couple of years that the barging solution is perhaps the best to effectively evacuate cargo from the port either from vessels or terminal directly,” he added.
Kelikume also urged the relevant agencies to urgently embark on wreck removal and sectional dredging, address the issue of insecurity
and provision of navigational aids to ensure smooth sailing of barges at all hours of the day.
He said barge operators have the capacity to double the current statistics and boost revenue earnings, especially in the export sector as the nation prepares to take full advantage of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) given the enabling environment and support of stakeholders.
In his remarks, Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr Magdalene Ajani, assured that the ministry remains committed to the successful implementation of the CVFF with a view to ensuring that indigenous ship operators and aspiring entrepreneurs have access to funds to execute their business.
She said barge operations have not been properly regulated over the years and urged the leadership of the association to curb the proliferation of illegal operators in the business.
Chairman of the occasion and former Managing Director of NPA, Chief Adebayo Sarumi, in his remarks, urged the barge operators to consider consolidation and merger to reduce risk in the business and look beyond the government for financial support.
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