Adedapo Adesanya
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has inaugurated modern control towers for the Lagos and Tin Can Island Port complexes that will help get better and more accurate vessel data and tracking.
Speaking during the inauguration on Thursday, the Managing Director/CEO of NPA, Mr Mohammed Bello-Koko, said that safety and security constitute critical operational preconditions towards actualising the regional hub status.
He stated that the commissioning of the control tower “signposts our unwavering commitment towards improving operational efficiency through aggressive infrastructure and equipment renewal.
“The multiplicity of functions such as Vessel Traffic Management, Navigation Assistance, Advance Visibility, Safety and Security, Emergency Response, Communication, Resource Management and Disaster Risk Mitigation amongst other crucial functions which a control tower enables, are the reasons why we placed the equipping of this facility on top priority as the management team.
“As most of us are aware, safety and security constitute critical operational preconditions necessary for the actualization of our strategic intent of becoming the maritime logistics hub for sustainable port services in Africa, which is why we placed a high priority on putting in place a modern control tower of this nature in order enhance our domain awareness capability.”
According to him: “The commissioning of this communication and data-generating facility, which enhances our capacity to collate, organize and distribute vessel data with relevant stakeholders in a consistent format, is timely as it is coming at a time when the series of efforts geared towards having a Port Community System (PCS) necessary to make our ports more competitive and thus attractive of greater vessel traffic is beginning to crystallize.
“Given the decrepit and non-functional state we met this facility, the decision to invest so much towards making it the state-of-the-art and well-equipped edifice was made taking cognizance of the need to equip our highly cherished and well-trained marine talents with the right tools and comfort required to deliver efficient services to our stakeholders.
“Sustainably providing efficient port service in a safe, secure, and customer-friendly environment requires that we ensure and assure that we are up to date in terms of skill and equipment, and I would like to assure you that beyond this commissioning today, we are resolved to continually equip and re-equip this facility whilst training and re-training its users to be best-in-class.
“Let me seize this opportunity to implore all users of this facility to make the best use of this facility, and I expect that we begin to realize commensurate value for money spent.’’
On the need for sustainable operational efficiency, Mr Bello-Koko said the NPA is partnering with the Nigerian Navy for the rehabilitation, re-equipping and locating of its signal stations near the naval base for improved communication.
