‘Make Kaduna Dry Port attractive’

Importers and clearing agents have urged the Kaduna Dry Port promoters to make it attractive for business.

An importer, Alhaji Yahya Ibrahim, told The Nation that such  move would enhance economic activities in the area.

He praised the Federal Government for providing an enabling environment for the export of agricultural products and made-in-Nigeria goods, saying he would be happy if the state and the Federal Government could provide loans for importers, industrialists and farmers, to boost the purchase of farming equipment and increase revenue generation.

He said: “Before President Muhammadu Buhari-led government inaugurated the Kaduna Dry Port early this year, we depended largely on import and export of some of our goods.

“After its commissioning, we expect the dry port to fast-track the importation and exportation of goods. And that is why we are calling on the operators of the facility to introduce incentives that will make it attractive to importers, exporters and clearing agents.

A clearing agent, Mr Segun Ogunsanu said there are over 25 shippers’ associations in the country which the promoters of the Kaduna dry port need to partner with to boost activities at the port.
“It is pertinent to note that from our investigations, there are over 25 shippers associations  in the country and the operators of the dry port need to live up to the expectation to meet the expectations of the Nigerian Shippers Council, the Federal Government and Nigerians.

He said keeping the port empty after its commissioning is not appropriate for the health of the economy.

He urged the operators not to pursue a path that would not be in consonance with the objectives of the Federal Government and the NSC, urging the operators to be above board.

He said the maritime industry remains a key gateway to the nation’s industrial growth and the pivot on which even the oil and gas industry stands. At the centre of operation in the industry, are the shippers whose cargoes are the major attraction to both the shipping companies and the terminal operators. That is why the promoters and the operators of the Kaduna dry port need to partner them.

Another importer, Chief Samson Adegoroye, said the shippers’ associations were expected to play critical roles that would enhance the economic activities at the dry  port  and seek their support in boosting efficiency at the port.

Adegoroye said the dry port would assist the NSC its drive to restoring sanity and regulating the charges being imposed by the terminal operators at the seaports.