By Godwin Oritse
Federal Government has warned concessionaires of the Inland Container Depots, ICDs and Container Freight Stations, CFSs, to sign and return the new agreement it has prepared for the operation of their faculties or have their licences revoked within two weeks. In a renewed move to ensure that the dry port  projects, which have been stagnated  for over 13 years are completed and made operational nationwide, the federal government had through the Nigeria Customs Service, NSC, issued a new agreement to the concessionaires to sign and return under two weeks.

Consequently, they have been called  for another meeting  at the headquarters of NSC to ensure compliance in line with the directive of the Minister of Transport, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, who has shown serious discomfort with the near failure stages of the projects.

Some of the dry port concessionaires  who spoke with Vanguard have agreed to sign the  new agreement which has the clause of job delivery within 2017.

It , was, however gathered that some of them might as well lose the project because of varying issues arising from their states of location.

Already, some  have blamed their inability to perform not only on sourcing technical partners, funds, political vagaries, frequent leadership changes at the Federal Ministry of Transport, but stated that the current minister of transport  has declined to grant them special status of port of origin and that of destination.

One of thje inland container depot owners who spoke to Vanguard on the condition of anonymity said that all was set for work to commence at the port but Amaechi had declined to grant them the needed privilege.

This  further raised the question by observers on whether if this was what had been delaying the project  for 13 years now and why other ministers were not approached for the  same  reason.

In    Ibadan, Oyo State, Catamaran Logistics Limited, operators of Ibadan ICD, may have lost their project location on account of delay and internal political and personality squabbles and so may lose their licences soon.

The company’s Managing Director, Mr. Lai Are , said that “We have agreed in principle with the provisions of the agreement.”

Meanwhile, the federal government has, at last, resolved to fund the emerging new national shipping fleet with a part of the Cabotage Vessel Finance Fund(CVFF) proceed.

In what sounded rather amusing t o logistics and transport professionals, last   week, the Senate   directed the Nigerian Shippers’ Council,   to carry out feasibility studies on the establishment of dry ports in the country.

This was after the Senate had called on the Federal government to ensure that dry ports were established urgently in Onitsha, Enugu, Aba, Maiduguri, Bauchi and states that are landlocked as a way of accelerating trade and industry.

The Senate was of the view that the feasibility studies earlier carried out on the projects should be revisited.

The Senate directed its Committees on Transport and Works to ensure that the directive is fully followed.