The barge conveying the first export of manganese, a solid mineral resource from the Ikorodu Lighter Terminal has not arrived Apapa port, two weeks after flag-off, Nigerian Tribune can authoritatively confirm.
It will be recalled that the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Ms Hadiza Bala-Usman had on Wednesday, February 7 flagged-off the exportation of the solid mineral cargoes from Ikorodu to APM Terminal, Apapa through badges, assuring stakeholders then that the barges are expected to arrive at the APM Terminals within six hours of flag-off.
Ms Usman at the event said the movement of the solid mineral is of huge economic advantage to the country and that using barges to ferry containers of solid mineral across the waters to the APM Terminal within Apapa Ports will help to elongate the lifespan of the roads as this mode of export will be most encouraged.
She then called on stakeholders to key into the window of Public Private Partnership (PPP), and restated NPA Management efforts at complying with the federal government’s directives on the Ease of Doing Business at the nation’s seaports whilst the rehabilitation of the Ports access roads are ongoing.
However, findings by our correspondent at the Lagos ports showed that the barge that was supposed to get to APM Terminal, Apapa within six hours was yet to arrive. It was gathered that the terminal was still awaiting the arrival of the vessels two weeks after the badge left Ikorodu for Apapa port.
A source at the terminal had told our correspondent that the service providers, Connect Rail Services Limited (CRSL) is yet to inform the APMT why the consignment has not arrived the port for export.
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