As the 10,000 Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit (TEU) capacity Funtua Inland Dry Port (IDP) has been inaugurated to commence operations, the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) is optimistic that the project will contribute immensely to the economic expansion of the country through export growth.
Speaking after the launch of the Dry port in Funtua, Katsina state, the Executive Secretary of NSC, Barrister Puis Ukeyima Akutah, said the IDP will catalyze export in the state and the country at large.
The ES commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the opportunity to serve, expressing gratitude for the support received from the Federal government to complete the Dry port.
He emphasised that the Inland Dry Port ” is all about export, and we know that there is so much to be exported from Nigeria”.
Akutah tasked the management of the Funtua Dry Port to utilise the facility prudently and promote the activities of the port for the benefit of the nation.
He also reassured the Management of the IDP of Shippers Council’s commitment to ensure efficiency at the port by offering the needed support required to achieve the desired goal of improving the economy of Nigeria.
The development of Inland Dry Ports across the country was an initiative of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council about 20 years ago.
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According to the Council, the Inland Dry Ports (IDPs) are being promoted and facilitated based on Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) agreement.
The Funtua Inland Dry Port was approved and concessioned to Messrs Equatorial Marine Oil & Gas Limited.
The IDP being an equivalent of a seaport located in the hinterland, will receive containers by rail or road from the seaport for examination and clearance by customs and other authorised Agencies. It has all the loading and off-loading equipment needed to handle containers.
NSC explained that IDP offers the opportunity to bring shipping services to the doorstep of shippers, assists in decongesting the seaports and making them more user friendly and provides the impetus to revive and modernise the railway as the primary mode for long-distance haulage.
“Above all, it will help to reduce the overall costs of cargo to hinterland locations as well as to landlocked countries.”
Funtua IDP is among the first Dry ports in Nigeria completed and commissioned for operations after Kaduna and Dala Dry port in Kano, Kano state.
