Headlines
NPA pledges support for digital revolution of African ports.

Eyewitness reporter
The management of the Nigerian Ports Authority(NPA) has said that the agency has been working steadily to digitalise operations at all port locations in the country, towards optimal efficiency, elimination of corrupt practices, and service excellence.
The Acting Managing Director of the NPA, Mohammed Bello-Koko stated this when he received a delegation of the Ports Management Association of West and Central Africa (PMAWCA), led by the Association’s Secretary-General, Mr. Jean Marie Koffi, in his office on Thursday.
The PMAWCA delegation came to officially invite the Acting Managing Director as a Speaker at the forthcoming 41st PMAWCA Council Meeting, with the theme: “Digitized Port As A Model Of Port Efficiency”, scheduled for November 2021, in Douala – Cameroon.
Bello-Koko informed the PMAWCA delegation that the Authority has over the years championed the transition from manual to digital, automated, and smart business processes by working in collaboration with sister government agencies and providers of terminal and shipping services in the country.
He noted that this approach has enabled the country’s port system to continue to record an increase in cargo throughput every year, despite most of the seaports operating far above their designed capacity.
The NPA helmsman commended the PMAWCA Secretary-General and his team for sustaining the long cordial relations between the two organisations, stating that “PMAWCA has been a worthy partner at boosting regional trade and most importantly, encouraging the spirit of unity and brotherhood among Ports within the sub-region and Africa in general”.
He assured that the Authority is ready to work with PMAWCA to achieve closer regional integration and increased participation of ports in the region in the global economy.
According to him, ” as a port authority, we have been implementing a port community system to improve collaboration and information sharing among all parties in the supply value chain.”
” I, therefore, urge PMAWCA to remain steadfast in the promotion of the single window system as part of port operations in the subregion, this is the right way to improve the efficiency of cargo clearance” he added.
In his response, Jean Marie Koffi eulogized the Authority and its succeeding Chief Executives for their impactful contributions over the years, to the growth and development of the Association.
While thanking the NPA Acting Managing Director for the very warm reception accorded his delegation despite his very busy schedule, he described the forthcoming 16th Roundtable Conference of Managing Directors as part of the highlights of the 41st PMAWCA Council Meeting, where delegates of member ports and sister organizations outside the continent would share experiences on the digital transformation of their ports, the challenges encountered, the solutions applied and achievements therefrom.
He explained that the 2020 edition of the PMAWCA Annual Council Meeting couldn’t hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic that ravaged the entire world.
Headlines
Exclusive! Hope rises on take-off of proposed $3bn Badagry Deep Seaport as NPA, APMT resume discussion

The approval was finalised following a presentation by the Federal Ministry of Transportation at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) during the last administration of President Mohammed Buhari.
According to officials, the port is expected to generate $53.6 billion in revenue over the 45 years concession period.
The proposed site of the project is located 55km west of Apapa and the port of Lagos, along the 55km long Lagos-Badagry Expressway, which is being upgraded from a four-lane to a ten-lane expressway.
The port is expected to have an annual throughput capacity of 1.8 million Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs).
The proposal for the project was announced in 2012. Feasibility studies have been completed and construction works are yet to start.
The project will be implemented in four phases, with the overall project cost estimated to range between $2 billion and $3 billion.
Also, it is expected that the new port will primarily ease pressure on the existing ports of Lagos, Apapa and Tin-Can Ports, which handle approximately 85 percent of the country’s non-oil throughput.
It will further alleviate the burden on the country’s existing ports, which are on the verge of exceeding their cargo handling capacities, and address the country’s annual container traffic, which is expected to grow to 10 million Twenty-foot Equivalent Units by 2030.
Plans for the adjoining Badagry Free Trade Zone will include a power plant, oil refinery, industrial park and warehousing and Inland Container Deport functions.
Headlines
Jamoh, Bello- Koko, serial award winners, bag National Productivity merit awards

The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Dr. Bashir Yusuf Jamoh, is gradually turning into a serial award winner as he has landed yet another plaque of honour from the federal government.

An excited Jamoh expressed appreciation to the Federal Government, noting that it is a call to greater service to our Fatherland.“I am spurred by this award, particularly as it is coming from the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity, which underscores the ministry’s role in ensuring reward for hard work and productivity in public service”
“Let me also use this opportunity to dedicate the award to the industry’s stakeholders; external and internal, as they have made our work easier as an administration.
“We will continue to strive to make the maritime sector a viable economic driver, especially with the Blue Economy mantra, which is critical to the sustainability of the maritime sector”, Jamoh said.
Commenting the on the selection of the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Transportation, Dr. Magdalene Ajani, the DG said it is a well-deserved honour, as she has remained a core professional and astute administrator in the coordination of activities in the Ministry and the Agencies under the supervision of the Ministry.
“I am not surprised by her selection, as she is an administrator par excellence and has remained resolute and professional in the discharge of her duties.
”This conferment can only spur me and the entire team at the Nigerian Ports Authority whose commitment to exceptional performance culminated in this recognition, to continue pushing the limit and advancing the frontiers of trade facilitation.
”Imbued with the understanding that excellence is a moving target, I want to seize this moment to assure that we will not rest on our laurels in our resolve to turn our rich maritime potentials into actualities’, an elated Koko declared.
The National Productivity Order of Merit Award was instituted by the Federal Government of Nigeria to recognize and honour productive individuals and organizations in Nigeria in the year of the award for achievements made in the preceding years.
Headlines
Shippers’ Council bestows on APMT certificate of registration as regulated service provider at ports

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