– Gives trucks 72 hour-window to access ports
Vincent Toritseju
Lagos — In a bid to reduce congestion and encourage timely movement of export cargoes into ports in Lagos, the management of the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, has opened a 72 hours access window to all export trucks within which to access various terminals.
The NPA also said that failure to access the ports within the time frame, export cargo trucks will have their truck access tickets deactivated automatically.
In a notice to stakeholders titled ‘Important Update: Revised Access Window for left-Pregated Export Trucks’ issued by the management of Truck Transit Parks Limited, TTP, on behalf the Nigerian Ports Authority, the agency also said that the new policy aims at improving traffic flow and reducing congestion around the port access roads.
Part of the Notice reads: “The Nigerian Ports Authority has issued an important notice for all stakeholders in the port ecosystem. Effective from Monday April 22, 2024, a policy will be implemented regarding access to the port terminals for left-pregated export trucks.
“All left-pregated export trucks will now have only 72 hours to access the designated terminal after leaving the Export Processing Terminal, ETP.
“Failure to access the port within 72 hour-window will result in the automatic deactivation of the truck’s access ticket.
“Trucks with deactivated tickets due to exceeding the 72-hour window must return physically to the ETP for revalidation.
“This new policy aims to improve traffic flow and reduce congestion around the port complex and encourage timely movement of export cargo. We encourage planning and coordination to guarantee trucks reach the port within the designated timeframe.”
Reacting to the development, Mr. Remi Ogungbemi, President, Association of Maritime Truck Owners, AMATO, said that he saw the notice but has studied it because he had to attend another stakeholders’ meeting where the issue of export cargoes was also discussed.
Ogungbemi also said that Bellinton Export Processing Terminals has capacity to handle all export coming into Lagos except for the issue of hoodlum and street urchins that disturbs the movement of these trucks into the ports.