By Steve Agbota, Lagos
The Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Transportation has resolved to demolish Nigeria the Customs Service (NCS) building sitting and causing an obstruction on the rail lines at the Apapa seaport.
The Customs building has been causing delays and impediments to the construction of the rail line meant for cargo evacuation at the port.
The Minister of State for Transportation, Senator Gbemisola Saraki, who tour the rail project in Apapa on Monday, said that she was as at Apapa to look at the issues affecting activities to connect the rail to the Apapa seaport.
“As you can see, the construction of this standard gauge has been ongoing for more than two years and I came here to inspect the activities. We want to ensure that before the end of next month, the activities here have improved.
“By the end of this month, we want to ensure that the removal of this Customs facility which is on the rail track is resolved. The goal is to have this track operational by the end of this month.
“Although this building looks big, it is actually a minor issue that will be resolved by the time the Federal Ministry of Transportation, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) seat together to discuss it,” she explained.
According to her, It has been agreed that the building is going to be demolished but the fact is that it is a radioactive facility, adding It is a scanner and there is a need to ensure that the demolition is done safely.
Saraki who also visited Tin can Island Port, decried the collapse of infrastructure at the Port, saying that the collapse of Tin Can Island port has shown decades of neglect.
The Minister reaffirmed the position of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), for the total reconstruction of the Quay walls of the TinCan Island Port Complex which have become weak due to age.
“We cannot build on a weak foundation, it is vital that we get these two very important ports modernized and ready to berth modern vessels. The state of the Ports shows decades of neglect but it’s better late than never,” she said.
“It is a bit sad that Tin Can Terminal has taken it upon themselves to find a solution. Palliative won’t work anymore. We need to find a long-term solution to this problem. This is just one terminal. We’ve seen another terminal with the same challenge. We need to take a holistic approach to solve this.
“Tin Can is one of the major ports that we have. As I’ve said earlier and I’ll keep repeating that the port is one of one main engine rooms of our economy. So dilapidated ports are not going to engender economic growth. We need to ensure that we take a holistic approach as soon as possible. And I assure you that we will,” she added.