By Uzor Odigbo
Worried about the deplorable condition of the access roads, Sifax Group has advocated that Tin Can Island port be linked with modern rail network, as part of efforts to evacuate cargoes from the terminals and to further address issues of congestion at the seaports.
Sifax Group said it has invested massively in the maritime and logistics operations and will continue to support the federal government to create a conducive environment for business to thrive.
Group Managing Director, Sifax Group, Adekunle Oyinloye while addressing journalists on the conglomerate half year report in Lagos on Tuesday, explained that the deplorable corridors affected operational activities at Ports and Cargo Handling Services in the period under review.
Harping on some of the challenges faced by Ports and Cargo owned organization, the GMD said: “Our major challenge is the state of the roads linking the seaport. We wish that the road can be speedily restored.
“The number of our consignments that spend days on the roads have no reasons to be there.
“Delivery would have been smoother, transfer would have been perfectly done , but unfortunately for us that is not we have seen.
“We would have looked beyond the roads by linking Tin Can Island Port by rail and that again will make evacuation of cargo easy.
“On our part, we are ready to play any role that government want us to play to make it happen.
“Sifax will also support the federal government to retain its place as the hub of maritime activities in the region.”
He lamented that ports in neighbouring West Africa countries are taking the shine off Nigeria due to poor road network, adding that the port in Lome has become a hub of maritime activities due to the existing port infrastructure.
Oyinloye decried also that the three days warning strike embarked upon by the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria recently, affected operational activities at the terminal.
The management of SIFAX Group added that it projected a five year developmental plan for the conglomerate for better service and to become a pace setter in the maritime and logistics business in Nigeria.
The recent inclusion of new departments and personnel, the organisation said, formed part of the strategy to achieve the feat.
While highlighting on futuristic plans, the Group Manager Director, said that the organisation was positioning itself to serve the public better and to be ahead of the challenges of the industry in the next five years.
According to him, “We are constantly reinventing ourselves so that we can serve the public much better.
“The last time we met, probably a few people, a few offices were not in place but because we are growing steadily, we felt we have to alter how we do the business and who and who join us in the business.
“It is in the path of setting the pace that we began this year looking into the future of maritime and logistics and we are asking ourselves where we are going. Can we get ourselves ready for the task.
“We began the year with a restructuring plan to position ourselves ahead of what is likely to happen in the industry.
“The future has given birth to what we call five years strategic plan and it is planning and executing the plan that you see many of the people that we have brought on board to drive the new business.
“That is the reason for positioning ourselves to have increased number of bonded terminals.”
In continuation of executing the plan, the SIFAX boss noted that the company has acquired new handling equipment worth €18 million which is expected to take delivery of in few days time.
“To take an average, an harbour crane is about 4.5 million euros and if we say we are expecting four, you can multiply that,” he said.
