By Godwin Oritse

Determined to ensure that Nigerian ports take advantage of the intra African trade that is expected toincrease with the coming into operation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) is taking steps to reposition the Nigerian ports to improve its competitiveness against rival ports.

Managing Director of NPA, Dr Abubakar Dantsoho who disclosed this in his presentation at the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) Maritime and Logistics event in Lagos, said that it is envisaged that intra African trade will significantly increase with the collapse of trade barriers across Africa, adding, “it is therefore imperative that the Nigerian ports reposition to be competitive in order not to lose its gateway traffic to the ports.” “Our vision is to be the Maritime Logistics Hub for sustainable port services in Africa,” he affirmed

The NPA MD further said, “In the quest for our nation to optimize the benefits accruable from AFCFTA, there is no gainsaying that port plays a pivotal role as a nodal point in international logistics. Given the fact that port cost is a significant component of freight cost which ultimately affects the prices of goods in the market, this speaks to the imperativeness for our ports to be competitive and efficient.

“This requires strategic collaboration of every player in the port system for this to be actualized,” Dantsoho said.