A report on the gridlock on access road to Apapa Port on Wednesday revealed that more than half of the container trucks visiting Apapa, Lagos, daily had no immediate business to transact in the port.
The report emanated from an independent study conducted by a Maritime Consulting firm: Ships & Ports Ltd. and a don at the Lagos Business School, Dr Frank Ojadi.
The report issued by Mr Bolaji Akinola, the Chief Executive Officer of Ships & Ports Ltd., explained that truckers that genuinely had business to do in Apapa Port spent an average turnaround time of two days.
“This report was prepared with the purpose of giving insight into the number of container trucks coming into Apapa Port in relation to the total number of trucks sighted within Apapa environs.
“Two points were selected – the start of Creek Road at the tip of Liverpool Bridge and the start of Wharf Road near Area `B’ Police station – to collect information on trucks coming into Apapa.
“It was observed that 44 per cent of the containers coming into Apapa community through these access points were intended for transactions in Apapa Port, while 56 per cent did not have any form of transactions in the port.
“The data gathered was analysed to show the time and frequency taken from sighting to entry into the port,’’ the report said.
According to the report, a total of 5,515 trucks were surveyed at both observation points over a period of two weeks.
The report explained that the prolonged closure of the Ijora Bridge for repairs, which was the main exit point from Apapa , was a major contributing factor to the perennial traffic congestion in the area.
“The Ijora Bridge is the main exit point from Apapa but it was closed for repairs. The repairs were expected to last 22 days but it was still closed more than 30 days after.
“An alternative route is the Leventis exit by the bridge but this exit is narrow and riddled with several bad spots.
“The Leventis exit is also characterised by truckers moving against traffic, thus blocking the outbound traffic for several hours. The truckers are aided by security officials who collect money and pass trucks and tankers,’’ the report said.
The report also found that there was no presence of a traffic management system to coordinate the affairs of the multiple government agencies responsible for traffic control in Apapa.
According to the report, there was no engagement or communication with stakeholders before roads were closed and to control abuses and corrupt practices.
“There were also no tow trucks or rescue equipment to address the constant breakdown of trucks and containers falling along the road.
“The collapse of the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, which is the major entry and exit points for trucks accessing the Tin Can Island Port, the Apapa Port and several tank farms in the area, led to an increase in the number of trucks accessing these facilities through the narrow Apapa-Wharf road.
“This compounded the congestion on this stretch of road,’’ the report said.
It said that various stakeholders interviewed in the course of the study suggested that the solution to the Apapa gridlock would be to compel shipping lines to receive all empties at their empty depots.
The report, however, said that “While the popular notion on the return of empty containers has no direct impact on port operations, the study supports the assumption that it may compound the Apapa gridlock’’.
“This is because more than 80 percent of truckers perform dual transactions. That is, drop off empties and pick up imports.
“This implies that the return of empty containers to depots will add more trucks to the road when they have to return the empties to the terminals,” it said.
The report also said that Apapa Port recorded significant drop in gate transactions in the last few weeks due to the traffic gridlock.
“Operators are only able to meet and exceed expected transactions on Sundays because the traffic is lighter on Sundays, ” the report said. (NAN)
