BY Wasilat Azeez
The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), on Friday, flagged off the first non-oil export processing terminal, situated in Ibeshe-Ikorodu, Lagos state.
The Ibeshe-Ikorodu facility is designated as EssLibra Terminal.
The EssLibra Terminal is an integrated logistics off-dock terminal, ready for all export activities such as stuffing, on-site customs clearance and barging services.
The agency said the terminal covered an area of 120,000sqm that includes an export processing zone, trailer park, RoRo facility and fuel dump.
Speaking at the flag-off ceremony, Mohammed Bello-Koko, NPA managing director, asked all agencies involved in the export processing value chain to deploy adequate personnel and work in synergy to ensure efficiency and quick turnaround in the processing of export cargoes.
While commending the management of EssLibra for the quality of facilities at the terminal, he assured them of the readiness of NPA to remove all impediments against the seamless handling of locally manufactured exports and agro-allied commodities.
Bello Koko asked the management of the terminal to resist the temptation to veer off export processing for which the facility was built.
According to him, the rationale for the establishment of the terminal is to have a one-stop shop where all inspection, consolidation and stuffing of export-bound cargo will be conducted in a synchronised manner in order to eliminate all the delays that rendered Nigeria’s non-oil exports uncompetitive.
He said the NPA management would effectively implement all government policies geared towards the promotion of exports, as well as strengthening indigenous capacity through the promotion of local content.
“We took cognizance of local content in the certification process of this terminal, and this is why I expect the host community to take ownership of this terminal and support its operations, in view of the multiplier benefits to the host community”, a statement by Ibrahim Nasiru, general manager of NPA’s corporate and strategic communications division, quoted Bello-Koko as saying.
On his part, Yemi Adunola, managing director of EssLibra Nigeria Limited, thanked the NPA and its technical partners, the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), for their unalloyed support.
He pledged his company’s readiness to render efficient services and a commitment to continuous improvement through sustained investments in human capital and requisite technology.
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