Apapa traffic reforms cut cargo costs by 65%, boost turnaround time — Onwubuariri

From left: Jama Onwubuariri, MD, Truck Transit Parks Limited, receiving his award for Import/Export Trade Facilitation from the Vice President, Maritime Correspondents’ Organisation of Nigeria (MARCON), Paul Ogbuokiri, at the All Maritime Journalists’ Retreat in Lagos on Thursday.

Stanley Ihedigbo

Truck Transit Parks Limited (TTP) has credited the recent traffic reforms at the Apapa and Tin Can Island ports with delivering strong economic benefits, including notable reductions in cargo evacuation costs and transit delays.

Managing Director of TTP, Jama Onwubuariri, during a presentation at the All Nigerian Maritime Journalists’ Retreat themed “Maximising emerging technologies for sustainable import and export trade,” held on Thursday, at the Lekki Free Zone, disclosed that the cost of transporting cargo has dropped by about 65 per cent.

According to him, haulage costs that once reached as high as ₦1.4 million have fallen to between ₦350,000 and ₦500,000, while truck turnaround time has reduced from two to three weeks to just two to three days.

He explained that the gains are linked to the Federal Government’s intervention in 2019, when TTP was invited to help address the chronic gridlock that had crippled the Apapa port corridors for years.

The company later signed a concession agreement in 2020 to deploy technology-driven traffic management solutions through its electronic call-up system, known as ETO.

Onwubuariri noted that the deployment of the ETO platform marked a major shift in port access management, significantly reducing congestion, improving cargo movement, and enhancing overall operational efficiency along Lagos port access roads.

He recalled that before the reforms took effect in 2021, traffic in Apapa had deteriorated to the point where commuters abandoned their vehicles and resorted to motorcycles and boats to reach their workplaces. He added that gridlock stretched from Apapa to Surulere and Mile 2, obstructing emergency services, disrupting businesses, and paralysing economic activities within the port environment.

Onwubuariri said the situation has since improved considerably, with most Apapa access roads now experiencing free traffic flow. Tin Can Island has also recorded improved access, though queues still occur among tankers not yet captured under the electronic call-up system.

He attributed the improvements to the combined impact of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) policies and TTP’s deployment of technology and physical truck parks, stressing that trucks did not “disappear” but were redirected to licensed holding bays pending digital clearance.

Since inception, the ETO system has processed about 3.4 million truck movements over four years and nine months, with the platform recording 100 per cent uptime since its launch in February 2021.

The system has also undergone more than 170 feature updates and has been integrated with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Nigerian Export Proceeds (NXP) portal, ensuring exporters complete regulatory requirements before booking access to the ports.

Despite the progress, Onwubuariri identified key challenges, including truck plate number duplication, the use of fake or cloned plates, non-compliance with Terminal Delivery Orders (TDOs), terminal inefficiencies, drivers stalling on roads, and extortion by security officials creating artificial bottlenecks.

To address the gaps, TTP has proposed measures such as deploying an E-tag digital identity system for trucks, linking bookings to standardised interchange transaction numbers tied to VEP or TDO, improving terminal infrastructure, strengthening consequence management, introducing 24-hour return service charges, issuing firm directives to curb extortion, and conducting regular performance monitoring.

He reaffirmed TTP’s commitment to continued collaboration with the NPA and other stakeholders to sustain the gains of the reforms, noting that although traffic has eased significantly, many people still associate Apapa with the painful experiences of the pre-2021 gridlock era.

Onwubuariri was presented with an Excellence Award for Import/Export Trade Facilitation by MARCON for his leadership at TTP, which has contributed significantly to easing port access, lowering cargo evacuation costs, and improving turnaround time through technology-driven solutions.

The association added that the recognition also encourages the continued collaboration needed to consolidate the gains recorded along Nigeria’s major port corridors.