Association of Bonded Terminal Operators (ABTO) has lamented that over N3.5 trillion investment in indigenous bonded terminals is at risk due to poor integration of local content into the Federal Government port concession of 2006.

Raising the alarm following the declining state of bonded terminal operations in the country, the General Secretary of ABTO, Haruna Omolajomo, cited the negative impact of the concession policy.

The Managing Director of Harsecom Logistics Limited stated this in Lagos, yesterday, at the Portnews Summit 2024 with the theme ‘Port Reforms and Local Content: Has Nigeria Fared Well?’.

Omolajomo painted a grim picture of an industry struggling to survive due to systemic neglect and marginalisation, noting that from 2001 to 2008, bonded terminals contributed over N1 billion yearly to the Federal Government’s revenue and operated at 80 to 100 per cent capacity.

According to him, as of today, that contribution has plummeted to N300 million yearly, with most terminals functioning at less than five per cent capacity.

The once-thriving facilities now stand largely abandoned, with some re-purposed for activities such as football matches, he added.

Highlighting the Dala Inland Dry Port as an example of the dire situation, the ABTO scribe noted that the facility, with a capacity of 25,000 containers and investments exceeding N500 billion, “has not handled a single container” since its completion.

He explained that from 2001 to 2008, they played a crucial role in decongesting Nigerian ports, handling over 500,000 Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) yearly to prevent vessel diversion to neighbouring ports like Cotonou.

Despite their contributions, he said, bonded terminal operators faced exclusion since the 2006 concessions, which favoured foreign concessionaires offering door-to-door services.

He said, “This amounts to economic sabotage,” adding that five of the 25 bonded terminal operators active in 2006 had since shut down due to crippling debts.

If no action is taken, he warned, bonded terminal operations in Nigeria may go extinct.

“The port reforms failed to translate into the growth of local content. Instead, it is a case of economic re-colonisation,” he said.

He urged the Federal Government to review its contractual obligations with concessionaires to protect the future of local content and the investments of indigenous operators.

In his welcome address, the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of PortNews, Wale Oni, highlighted how measures like off-dock terminals and Inland Container Depots (ICDs), promoted by the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC), alleviated port congestion in response to growing trade volumes.

He said the narrative changed following port reforms implemented between 2004 and 2006 under President Olusegun Obasanjo, which privatised key port terminals, handing over their management to foreign concessionaires.

Oni criticised the shift, particularly the impact on indigenous bonded terminals and ICDs, which faced marginalisation.

“Dala Inland Container Depot in Kano, despite its state-of-the-art infrastructure and rail connectivity, has not received a single container 18 months after commissioning,” he lamented.
He argued that the cessation of container transfers to Nigerian facilities impoverished local operators, leaving them as spectators in an industry once dominated by Nigerians.

The Managing Director of Dala Inland Dry Port Nigeria Limited, Ahmad Rabiu, emphasised the need to strengthen Nigeria’s local content policy and support indigenous operators in the maritime sector.

Rabiu stressed the importance of enforcing the national local content policy across all sectors, particularly in promoting products and services genuinely made in Nigeria.

“The policy must ensure that ‘Made in Nigeria’ truly reflects Nigerian craftsmanship and expertise, without excessive reliance on external inputs from countries like China or India,” he noted.

Addressing Nigeria’s port reforms, he underscored the need for policies that prioritise the creation, promotion and protection of indigenous operators.

He advocated the establishment of anti-trust regulations to safeguard Nigeria’s economy from monopolistic tendencies detrimental to local players, adding: “The survival and growth of indigenous operators are essential to fostering a robust and inclusive maritime industry.

Protecting local content is not just an economic policy; it is a necessity for Nigeria’s sovereignty in the maritime space.”