Speaking to Nigerian Tribune exclusively, Director of Research & Advocacy of the LCCI, Dr Vincent Nwani explained that since alternative means of cargo evacuation are not yet fully efficient, operators, stakeholders and even government should be ready to make sacrifices to allow for repairs of all ports access roads and bridges.
According to Dr Nwani, “These ports roads and bridges have been an issue for a long time now. Nigerians have been clamouring for repairs and rebuilding of the roads and bridges. Now the government has started repairing the roads and bridges through private sector partnerships with Dangote Group and Flourmills. The work is progressing and I heard the first stage of the project will be handed over in June. That is commendable.
“Now to the planned closure of the Apapa bridge, it must be noted that even without the closure of the bridge, there is already congestion on most ports access roads. I think what we should be talking about is that government should give us alternative routes to access the ports because we cannot afford to shut down the ports. No country in the world does that.
“Now, talking about alternative routes to the ports, rail is too academic because it cannot happen overnight. Government wants to close that bridge very quickly, and rail takes time to actualise, so it will be difficult to talk about cargo evacuation by rail as solution to the planned Apapa bridge closure.
“Another important alternative would have been evacuation through the waterways, but we have been talking about that too for decades now. I am not sure the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) is prepared to start moving cargoes from the ports to places like Ikorodu, Badagry and even Lekki or the Niger Delta region because our channels are shallow and not safe.
“So, all this issues makes possible alternative routes to the ports very difficult. We believe it is very important for government and stakeholders, particularly the terminal operators to meet at a point of convenience.
“If we have a bad road or bridge, and its being repaired, we all have to pay some prices; and one of the prices to be paid is long traffic or gridlock. However, government should also be smart to work in the night because people are making sacrifices.
“Since alternative routes are not readily available, the truth is that we need to make certain prices by spending more time on the roads due to the traffic gridlock that will come as a fallout of the Apapa bridge repair. However, government must also learn how to work day and night, thereby reducing the numbers of days the Apapa bridge would remain closed for repairs.”
“It is really a sad situation we find ourselves in, but we should be ready to make some sacrifices to get this things done. The truckers, terminal operators, importers, agents and even government will have to bear certain cost. Asking government to work day and night comes with additional cost. Also, spending hours on the roads is additional cost for truckers, while long traffic gridlock along the ports access roads reduces expected revenue for terminal operators. Everybody has to make some sacrifices or the ports access roads and bridges wont be repaired.”
The Federal Controller of Works, Lagos, Mr. Adedamola Kuti, had disclosed recently that the Apapa Bridge would be closed for permanent repairs as soon as stakeholders come up with alternative routes for commuters. The bridge is the major link with the port through Wharf Road with Ijora.
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