NPA may convert Lilypond Terminal to truck park

he Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) may convert Lilypond Terminal at Ijora to a trailer park in a bid to ease the gridlock  on Apapa Ports roads.

The roads lead to the Tin Can Island and Apapa Ports, the nation’s busiest terminals.

In a chat with The Nation during a facility tour by the NPA board, its General Manager, Public Affairs, Adams Jatto, said the idea was mooted to address the Apapa traffic crises.

It may, however, spark controversy because the NPA last September 1 awarded a fresh five-year development concession of the Lilypond Terminal to APM Terminal after the expiration of its 2006 concession.

Details of the new arrangement remain unknown.

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Jatto said: “Lilypond Container Terminal was erroneously concessioned ab initio because the said terminal does not have a water front for loading and offloading of cargo. Consequently, after the expiration of the lease, the terminal was however reclassified and granted a five-year development lease.”

The authority, he said, would soon begin work at the terminal to ascertain the number of trucks it can take. NPA, Jatto added, would adopt an orderly electronic call up system for the parking of trucks at the terminal before they go to the ports for loading.

The NPA generated N565,142,063.36 and N560,734,047 from the leasing of the facility in 2017 and 2018 when it was not concessioned.

Clearing agents at the terminal had complained of about 300 job loss due to the idle state of the facility and accused APMT of doing nothing about the influx of containers.