The China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation has said that a building belonging to the Nigeria Customs Service, situated inside the AP Muller Terminal Apapa, is frustrating evacuation of cargoes by rail in the port.
The Deputy Managing Director, CCECC, Mr Xia Lijun, said this recently when he hosted the Joint National Assembly Committee on Land Transport, which was on an oversight visit at Obafemi Awolowo rail station in Ibadan, Oyo State.
He lamented that several efforts had been made to remove the building sitting along the rail gauge track inside the terminal, but to no avail. He noted that the building was the major reason why cargo evacuation by rail on the standard gauge trains had not commenced services inside the terminal.
“We have eight tracks for standard gauge rail and three tracks for narrow gauge rail. However, despite connecting the port, we cannot move containers by rail because there is a building belonging to the NCS sitting on the rail track inside APM Terminals.
“We have made repeated efforts to remove that building, but it has all been fruitless. It’s now three years since we have been asking that the Customs building be removed, but nothing of such has been done. Yes, passenger service is important but the freight service makes a profit.
“If we can carry the cargoes from the ports and later use the railway to carry them to different parts of the country, it will be faster. We have a Customs building inside; it is almost two to three years, and we cannot demolish the building. And without connecting the last 100meters, we cannot carry the cargoes, which is a headache for us. The lines have been there, but it is only the last 100meters that are not clear, which is an issue for us. If we cannot move cargoes by standard gauge trains, then we are not breaking even when it comes to profit-making and without connecting the last 100meters, we cannot carry the cargoes,” he said.
Corroborating Lijun’s statement, the Project Manager, Team Construction Company, Mrs Precious Ebare, said some of the contraband goods seized by Customs were on the rail track and slowing down the completion of tracks to the terminal.
“Another issue we are having is that of power. The lines have not yet been given, aside from the one coming through to the substation in Ibadan or wherever. We usually call that place the transition line. We have not got the approval for that land because they need to speak to the owners of the land and we need to get their approval.
“Even though the Discos may not be completely available, it is better than using the generator. Using the generator makes the cost higher,” she said.
In his reaction, the Public Relations Officer of the Apapa Command of the NCS, Abdullahi Usman, said that the building could not be demolished because of radioactive rays.
“There are things that are involved in this. In the initial plan, it was for the building to be demolished completely, but experts advised against that because of some radioactive rays. So, when I saw that story, I had to call the officer in charge of scanning to confirm with him because he is the person who stays there always.
“And the information I got is that it is only part of the building that can be demolished and not all the building because experts have advised against it due to radioactive rays. So, the rail tracks will need to bypass the building and not to go through the building.”
He, however, said that the questions should be directed to the Nigerian Ports Authority.
“But these questions are supposed to be answered by the NPA and not the NCS because the evacuation of those cargoes is supposed to be done by the NPA. Even the evacuation of the cargoes should also be done by the NPA. Some of those containers there are not just ordinary items; most of them are seized Tramadol. So, we do not just want anybody to move those containers and dump them at Ikorodu Lighter Terminal. We have to create a space for them and make sure they are safe before we move them to Ikorodu Lighter Terminal,” he said.
An attempt to get the reaction of the General Manager, Corporate and Strategic Communications, NPA, Ibrahim Nasiru, was not fruitful as he was not picking up his calls as of the time of filing this report.
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