President Muhammadu Buhari has just inaugurated the Country’s first Inland Dry Port in Kakuri, Kaduna State with estimated capacity of 5000 tonnes of cargoes yearly.
While inaugurating the facilities, President Buhari admonished the Customs and Port officials to not frustrate the businesses of the facilities with unnecessary bureaucracy.
“It remains for Customs and Ports officials to make these facilities work and not to frustrate business, commercial and industrial enterprises with unnecessary bureaucracy and inflicting on them delays and hardships, thereby defeating the object of the whole exercise as has happened in the past.”
Buhari iterated that the concept of Inland Dry Port has gained widespread importance with changes in international transportation as a result of the container revolution and the introduction of door-to-door cargo delivery.
According to him, Dry Ports would provide exporters the much needed facilities to process, package, consolidate and forward their exports to customers all over the world without having to physically being at the seaports.
“It also enables them to process clearance of their import cargo and take delivery of their raw materials and machinery close to their places of business.’’
Buhari laud the Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, Ministry of Transportation, Nigerian Shippers’ Council, as well as the hinterland importers and exporters, on the inauguration of the facilities.
What is Inland Dry Port
Dry Port also known as Inland Container Deports (ICD’s) is a Port located in remote areas of a Country, connected by rail or road to a sea port, and also operating as point of transhipment for sea cargoes to inland destinations.
Dry port also serve as a Container Fright Station (CFS), that provides facilities for the storage and consolidation of goods, maintenance for road or rail cargo carriers and customs clearance services.
It eases seaports congestion by improving the movements of imports and exports, creating a more central distribution point and eradicating the time-consuming sorting of containers.
Importers can take possession of cargo from Dry Port after completing the necessary documentations without going to seaport, while exporters can also complete necessary exports formalities from the Dry Port and ship the cargo abroad without taking it to the seaport.
According to the Director, Special Duties, Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC), Mr. Ignatius Nweke, the port was birth to reduce the congestion in Lagos ports and provide relief for the busy Apapa road.
Nweke noted that Kaduna State was the largest producer of ginger in the Country, and the new port provides the opportunity for the exportation of processed agricultural produce to other countries of the world.
