The Chairman, Seaport Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria (STOAN), Princess Vicky Haastrup, has said the concession of the nation’s seaports has saved the country over $1.6 billion ( N1.1 trillion) in the last 16 years.
The STOAN chairman said the amount saved translated to about $100 million annually since the port was concessioned.
Haastrup revealed that apart from the money saved, it the concession also brought about efficiency different from the way the seaports were managed in the past.
Recall that the federal government embarked on a port reform programme in 2006 which led to the concession of cargo handling operations at the port to reputable private terminal operators.
Speaking at a stakeholders engagement in Lagos, on the theme ‘16 Years of Port Concession: The Pains and the Gains’, Haastrup said the exercise has been a huge success and brought tremendous improvements to the nation’s port system.
“The port concession programme has reduced the waiting time of vessels coming into our ports from an average of 45 days before 2006 to less than three days at present.
“It has helped in eliminating the notorious congestion surcharge hitherto imposed on the ports by major shipping lines under the aegis of the Europe-West Africa Trade Agreement (EWATA).
Haastrup listed other benefits of port concession to include injection of private capital into port development; freeing up government resources for other developmental purposes; elimination of port congestion; and modernisation of our ports.
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