Apapa chaotic traffic shoots up container transport fee by 116.7%

 Harboursandport.com: Lagos ---- The chaotic Apapa traffic along the nation's port access roads in Lagos has resulted in a 116.7% hike in the cost of transportation of imported goods from the ports to surrendering towns in Lagos.

The usual chaotic traffic long Tin Can
end of Apapa - Oshodi expressway,

Investigation revealed that transportation of a 20 feet container from Apapa to Ikeja which used to cost N25,000 as now shot-up to between N350,000.

Confirming the above, President/CEO of NICSOL Worldwide Investment Limited, Mr. Nicodemus Odolo,

Odolo said the bad roads has affected the movement of goods to and from the port; and has affected the cost of movement of consignments to and from the port.

According to Odolo, “bad port access road for the past four years has affected the cost of transportation. Now containers that are supposed to move from Apapa port to Ikeja at the cost of maybe N30,000, now end cost up to N350,000.

“So all these thing are factored into cost of production and it affects the selling price that is why you see made in Nigeria goods costlier than those imported. So every other country of the world sees Nigeria as their supermarket and that is why they do not pray that we improve economically or that our infrastructure should work or that our electricity should work because when they begin to work and they get developed they have nowhere to sell their manufactured goods.

“It is unfortunate that people in government seems not to understand this.

Similarly, President of the Shippers Association of Lagos, Rev. Jonathan Nicol, said transportation of goods from Tin-can Port to Ikeji which used to cost N50,000 for a 20 feet container and cost N275,000.

Nicol also disclosed that 40 feet container which use to cost N80,000, now attracts about N430,000 to N450,000. He explained that truckers cannot be blamed because of the bad roads which make them stay on the roads for weeks before they get into and out the ports.

He said importers are made to pay high demurrages because it is becoming increasingly difficult to trucks to get into the port and when they do; they only go for the highest bidder.

He said Shippers Association of Lagos has taken the case to the Nigerian Shippers Council, NSC who could not act to control the exorbitant transport fee because of the bad.

He further pointed out that importers are now forced to pay three times what they use to pay for the clearance of their goods from the port yet stand the chance of losing their consignments with no one to hold responsible.