Apapa Gridlock: Water, Rail Transportation To The Rescue, Says Gbededo

The present logistic and structural challenges facing Apapa, the seaport city, are burdensome according to the Group Managing Director, Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc and President, Association of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employers (AFBTE), Mr. Paul Gbededo. He told FABIAN ODUM the short and medium term solutions to revive Apapa economy. Hear him. 

APAPA Overview Historically, Apapa has always been a problem when it comes to inward and outward logistics, because it is the home of the largest port in Nigeria. It is important to know that one of the two roads leading to Apapa also leads to the second port, the Tin-can Island port.

The two ports handle over 90 per cent of the imports into the country and so it has always been a problem. But what we are witnessing today is unprecedented; because infrastructure is not developing and increasing logistics is becoming more difficult.

Infrastructure challenge and solution  Over the past 30 years, it is expected that things will become more difficult especially, when fuel import distribution facilities and tankers have joined the business landscape of Apapa. It is not just the traffic but also, a structural problem.

The Funso Williams Avenue (former Western Avenue) to Apapa, Apapa to Tin-can and Oshodi Expressway are experiencing deterioration and that is creating problem.   We should be looking at creating further exit out of the area, which on my part should be transport by water.

It is not just the vessels coming in. We should consider water transport, from Apapa to Ijora and then Oworonsoki. From there, trucks can move to Ibadan expressway. I think we should be looking at these possibilities, of barges that can take about 15 trucks at a time because Apapa Bridge is already showing signs of stress. If we are to repair it, like the 3rd mainland bridge, it will be a disaster because it has to be closed.

The Tin-can to Oshodi is an impossible axis and we need alternatives. As a company, we have reconstructed the roads from Leventis to Ijora, passing beside the Apapa overhead bridge. But more work need to be done by the government. They need to create alternative routes. If anything happens to Apapa road, the economy would be brought to its knees.

The Tin-can to Oshodi is an impossible axis and we need alternatives. As a company, we have reconstructed the roads from Leventis to Ijora, passing beside the Apapa overhead bridge. But more work need to be done by the government. They need to create alternative routes.

If anything happens to Apapa road, the economy would be brought to its knees.   We have been groaning especially in the last two years, we can’t go to work except by ferry. The alternatives should not only be for commuters, but also for goods.   That road is bad now, but government needs to do something because it crosses the rail line and that’s the problem.

Now that the government in Lagos and Federal Government are from the same party, there should be a positive difference. Why will companies turn to road repairers? Everyday containers fall here and there because the roads are in poor shape.

Trains can go riding to the ports, but which train? The best for now is that they move commuters in short distances, not goods. It’s just a fundamental problem because rail has been neglected and has remained a single-track rail. It worked 60 to 100 years ago, but we have not advanced in that area.

Even if we make the existing rail service to take just 10 to 15 per cent of the logistics, it will make some difference and it can be dedicated to conveying tankers and containers only and this will ease congestion on the roads.   While the long term solution is to pipe fuel to somewhere outside Lagos entirely.

So we can have a network of pipes, but meanwhile, why don’t we dedicate railway to take containers or trucks out of Apapa by rail?  Economic impact of challenge   It cannot really be quantified, the impact of these challenges on the operations of the business community in Apapa.

It is hampering growth. The happenings in the last two years have been unprecedented. In 2014, business was totally paralysed for three months and this year, we have seen two out of seven months during which we did not do anything.   According to statistics, the Organised Private Sector is contributing greatly to GDP and we have at least 35 per cent of the time lost in the Apapa gridlock.

Also think of the medical, social impact and the stress on the people and how many people are presently living comfortably in Apapa?   People and companies are relocating outside Apapa. But the fact is that inbound and outbound logistics depend on Apapa for manufacturers and exporters alike.

This can be solved with sustained effort. When the Governor came here some weeks ago, there was little improvement. The bridge became free from tankers, but for how long? We need to repair the road.

The Governor took action; he came to meet with stakeholders, tanker drivers and relevant associations. The fundamentals have to be dealt with; the road is over 30 to 40 years old and needs reconstruction. The Tin-can road is being fixed, but when will it be completed? We don’t know.

If you produce and you cannot get your goods to the market, you will have to definitely shut down. It is affecting the buyers, consumers and our capacity utilisation.

We need to stop and repair the bridge, but alternative routes need to be created, including waterways. Before now, taking goods from here to Kaduna was between N6,000 and N7,000 per ton, which now is about N10,000. It cost about N2,000 per ton to move goods in Lagos, but was half of that before and it definitely adds to the cost of production.