By Hauwa Ali
The Lagos State Government has met with transport stakeholders to discuss strategies to improve and manage traffic in the Lekki axis ahead of the Lekki Deep sea Port operations which will commence Trial port operations in December ahead of a full commercial start in March next year.
The state Commissioner for Transportation, Dr. Frederic Oladeinde said the move is imperative to avert the traffic challenges similar to the one experienced at Apapa Tin Can Port given the large number of trucks expected to ply the Lekki-Epe axis when the Lekki Deep Sea Port commences operations.
Oladeinde explained that the State Government is being proactive to ensure that trucks are properly managed through an effective Call Up System, hence the need for continuous review of strategies by the stakeholders’ forum.
Also speaking at the meeting, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation, Sola Giwa, said the State Government’s partnership with Trucks Transit Parks Ltd, an electronic truck call-up solution provider, worked effectively in managing the menace of trucks in Apapa Tin Can Port.
He said the same experience used to solve the Apapa gridlock will be replicated at the Lekki Epe axis when the area starts experiencing an influx of trucks as a result of port activities.
Truck Transit Parks also promised to replicate the e-call-up system already in use to manage truck movement at Apapa and Tincan Ports which has succeeded in bringing sanity to the area.
With Cargo ships currently reaching Nigeria’s commercial hub Lagos, waiting for almost a month before loading/unloading cargo, these NPA( Nigeria Ports Authority) Managing Director, Muhammad Bello-koko, the Lekki deep seaport has the potential to slash cargo waiting time to two days.
“It changes everything because Lekki will be faster, it has more space, and it is more modern,” Bello-Koko said in an interview recently.
“It is a game changer that will bring back most of the cargoes we are losing to neighboring countries,” he added.