The Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mr Mohammed Bello-Koko, says Nigeria has not fully utilised the opportunities offered by the upstream maritime economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bello-Koko said this at the conference of the Association of Maritime Journalists of Nigeria (AMJON) held on Tuesday in Lagos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bello-Koko, represented by Mrs Oluwayemisi Oyinlola, General Manager, Corporate and Strategic Communications, NPA, spoke on the theme \u201cNigeria and the Evolving New Port Order.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Bello-Koko, this explains why the maritime sector has not contributed substantially to the Nigerian economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMaritime activities are made up of downstream and upstream operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDownstream operation is principally made up of port operation and bunkering, while the upstream consists of insurance, connectivity logistics and shipping activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIronically, Nigeria operates only in the port operation aspect of downstream operation. Even the port operation is not performing optimally due to a number of inherent challenges,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He pointed out that in an effort to reposition the Nigerian economy, particularly the maritime sector, the managers of the economy needed to pay requisite attention to the sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor Nigeria to maximise the benefits of blue economy, both downstream and upstream operations have to be fully explored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShipping business must be taken beyond mere vessel and cargo handling at the port, but must include other services such as bunkering, insurance, hinterland connectivity and others,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said the complexity of the shipping industry and the need to become more competitive and cost-effective necessitated its continual change and adaptation to meet the demands of world trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He noted that the concern was how well Nigeria was prepared to measure up with the future trends of shipping such as digital sensoring, bigger mega ships and greener shipping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Other shipping trends he listed as the use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as fuel and solar and wind power for ships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He listed some initiatives by NPA to facilitate trade and position the ports towards the path of competitiveness as rail linkages, electronic truck-traffic call-up system, licensing of 37 Satellite Truck Parks and others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added that NPA had kick-started the process of establishing Port Community System (PCS) to bring together all stakeholders in the port community and facilitate ease of doing business at the ports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He noted that the process was backed by the government through the Federal Ministry of Transportation and the technical assistance of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Bello-Koko, NPA\u2019s role is to position the port on the part of competitiveness with focus on quality port services and right pricing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is what underpins trade facilitation ideals, which will ultimately expand the frontiers of trade and foster economic growth,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n
The Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mr Mohammed Bello-Koko, says Nigeria has not fully utilised the opportunities offered by the upstream maritime economy. Bello-Koko said this at the conference of the Association of Maritime Journalists of Nigeria (AMJON) held on Tuesday in Lagos. Bello-Koko, represented by Mrs Oluwayemisi Oyinlola, General Manager, Corporate and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12103,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1366,949],"tags":[137],"class_list":["post-47286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-economy","tag-maritime","has-post-title","has-post-date","has-post-category","has-post-tag","has-post-comment","has-post-author",""],"yoast_head":"\n