Adedapo Adesanya
By Adedapo Adesanya
The managing director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mr Mohammed Bello-Koko, has claimed that the agency has not increased its tariffs in 30 years.
Speaking on TVC’s Business Segment, Mr Bello-Koko said that the only time the agency increased its tariff was Towage Services, that the authority reviewed sometime around 2012 or 2014.
According to Mr Bello-Koko, “The NPA has not increased its tariff since 1993. The rates that we have been using since 1993 are still the same rate that we are using today.
“The last time the NPA increased its tariff was in 1993. Yes, the cost of doing business at the ports may be high, but we have not increased our tariff in the last 30 years.
“It was in 2012 or 2014 that the NPA Increased the cost of Towage. Every other tariff has remained as it is since 1993.
“The cost of doing business could be increasing, but it’s not attributable to the tariff and rates of the NPA.
“What we did in 2012 was to harmonise the tariffs and merge them because they were so many. Before then, if anybody is looking for our tariffs, they will find many tariffs broken into pieces. So, what we did then was to merge them.”
On port construction, the NPA MD said the situation at Tin-Can Port is the worst even though all other ports need some level of rehabilitation too.
“What we have been doing is palliative work, trying to manage the situation. However, it has now gotten to a stage where we feel palliative works are no longer tenable.
“So, what we have done is an Authority-wide NEED assessment where we checked those infrastructures. After that, we took the decision that it was time we fully reconstructed those infrastructures.
“Tin-Can Port is the one that is in the worst state, very terrible. We believe it is time to reconstruct and rehabilitate Tin-Can Port.
“There are some Quays at other ports, too, that need rehabilitation. Some Quays in Apapa, Warri, Calabar, Onne and virtually all the ports need rehabilitation.
“Our assessment showed that we need about $800 million to rehabilitate all the ports.”
