FCT mulls dry port, truck transit parks

Nigeria’s FCT Minister Muhammad Bello has promised to support the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) to establish Dry Port and Truck Transit parks in the Federal Capital Territory.
 Bello who received a delegation of Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) Board members in Abuja, said that the management of NSC has done tremendously well in monitoring and ensuring enforcing rules in the port.
 He also said that issues raised concerning the concession of the port in the FCT was already in the FCT Master plan.
 Bello said that he would look into the master plan and see what would be feasible for basic infrastructure.
 “We give you our full support, the Abuja Master plan actually envisages all the issues you raised and they have started implementing them.
 “We have started discussing with Nigerian Port Authority (NPA) and they want to set up something that is similar to what you are doing in Lagos but in a restricted manner specific to their own core functions.
 “The city was planned to be a government city, but the plan was so flexible because they anticipated that this would happen.
 “We will look at your request and see what is feasible within the master plan.
 “We can also be flexible but I think that the basic infrastructure required to achieve all this, is already on ground,” he said.
 The Minister said that the FCT administration has planned to build a bus transportation centre, which was meant for long distance buses which has the same facilities as the Truck Transit park.
 Bello, however, said that he would partner with NSC to complete the project.
 Earlier, the Executive Secretary of the NSC, Mr Hassan Bello, said that Abuja is a city with so much facilities to ease movement but the future has to be considered in terms of building transport infrastructure.
 “We still have to look at the future and that is where the issue of transportation comes in, we need to build infrastructure that will take care of the future needs.
 “We hope that Abuja will have its own port, without body of water. We can have port of destination and port of origin.
 “ We want Abuja to have a truck transit park or a consolidation centre, where trucks will have basic operating facilities, so that truck don’t usually come into the town because of traffic.
 Bello said that the government cannot build the infrastructure alone, adding that the private sector needs to be involved in the development process through Public Private Partnership (PPP).
 He requested that land be allocated for the truck transit parks in places like Giri, Abaji, Gwagwalada, Area1, Katampe and Zuba express way.