Lagos- The Inland Containers Nigeria Ltd. (ICNL) says 15,000 Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) of containers will be moved from the Lagos ports to its terminals in Kaduna and Kano in 2015.
The Chief Executive Officer of the company, Mr Yusuf Isma’il, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Wednesday.
Isma’il said the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) had promised to provide more wagons and locomotives to increase the movement of containers to the hinterland.
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“Our target for inland container for 2015 is 15,000 TEUs; that is, Twenty Equivalent Units of cargo, which we have already worked on and we have also discussed with the MD of the NRC; that was in December or early November.
“There is (an) arrangement by the Federal Government in place, which we are told will start working at the end of the first quarter.
“The NRC is going to provide more locomotives and it is going to provide more wagons to enable us to move more containers to our customers in the North.
“Our projection is 15,000 TEUs. So, if they have enough wagons and locomotives that would move the 15,000, I am happy.
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“I’m going to be the happiest person because it will reduce the problems associated with road transport.
“So, I look at the distance we are covering. From Lagos to Kano is more than 1,200 km. From Lagos to Kaduna, is about 970 km; so, it is a long distance.“
He said only about 10 per cent of the company’s monthly output of containers was being moved.
Ismail said the movement of cargo by rail would ensure efficient cargo delivery and boost a vital aspect of trade.
NAN reports that NPA had appealed to NRC to provide more wagons and locomotives to enhance container traffic from the ports to the hinterland. (NAN)