The management of the Lekki Deep Sea Port has rejected all plans by Truck Transit Parks (TTP) Limited, operators of the electronic call-up system in Apapa and Tin Can ports, to manage traffic at the deep seaport.
Instead they have created Vehicle Booking System, where bookings for trucks will be done before gaining access into the port.
In a chat with journalists on the issue, one of the officials of the Lekki Deep Sea Port, Daniel Odibe said, ‘’the management of the deep seaport already has a vehicle booking system where bookings will be done before gaining access into the port,’’ adding that, ‘’ the booking system will be operated by the container terminal.’’
According to him, ‘’all trucks will be registered alongside their drivers. The trucks will have their registered identification, which an automated gate will read to allow them access into the port. There are plans on ground to have a pre-gate/ staging area for trucks, before they are scheduled into the port.’’
“There is a vehicle booking system which is operated by the container terminal. So you can make your bookings before coming into the port. All trucks will also be registered along with their drivers and the trucks will have their RF ID which the automated gate will read to allow access into the port. The port will also have a pre-gate/ staging area for trucks basically. Those are the systems we have in place to address those challenges,’’ Odibe said.
Speaking on the controversy, Truck Transit Parks (TTP) Head of Operations, Irabor Okonoman said, ‘’the management of TTP has been making plans on seeking approval from the state government and relevant authorities to begin their operation at the Lekki Deep Seaport and also Badagry Deep sea port when it finally comes into full operations.’’
“We are speaking with the relevant authorities, the Lagos state government and everybody involved and we hope that soon we would have the electronic call-up system set up at the Lekki Deep sea port soon. We are aware of not just Lekki Deep Seaport, but also Badagry Deep Sea Port and we have been engaging relevant stakeholders to make sure that we don’t have a repeat of what happened in Apapa,’’ he noted.
On their part, stakeholders have argued that although automation is the best way to control traffic in and out of the port, there should be adequate provision for necessary enabling infrastructure to make the electronic call-up system work at the Lekki Deep sea port.
Also speaking, the National President of the Association of Maritime Truck Owners Association (AMATO), Chief Oluremi Ogungbemi confirmed that TTP is working on establishing a relationship that will work out the modalities of how the automation system will be effective at Lekki Deep Seaport.
He said, ‘’the Lekki Deep seaport would be a game changer when it begins full operation and such a facility cannot be effectively run without automation.
“Absolutely I support the approval of their operations at the Lekki Deep Seaport. No one should be against it because for any business to thrive in this modern day of technology, the business must be automated otherwise it will crash,’’ Ogungbemi said.
On the contrary, the National Organizing Secretary of the Council of Maritime Transport Union and Association (COMTUA), Mr. Dike Collins kicked against the approval stating that the operations of TTP in the past years is majorly to tax truckers before they are given access to the port without providing the necessary infrastructure which according to him needs to be challenged.
‘’The Nigerian Port Authority (NPA) should provide the services of the electronic call-up system themselves instead of delegating it to another company,’’ he said
©Copyright MOTORING WORLD INTERNATIONAL. All rights reserved. Materials, photographs, illustrations and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior written permission from Motoring World International
Contact: info@motoringworldng.com
