Two interesting developments occurred in Kaduna, north-west Nigeria, last Thursday, which have the capacity to massively open up not only the economy of the state but also those of its neighbours and a large chunk of the North.
One was the commissioning of new rail vehicles, consisting of 10 coaches and two locomotives, for the Kaduna-Abuja train service at Rigasa train station. The other was the opening of Nigeria’s first Inland Dry Port at Kakuri on the outskirts of Kaduna.
The new rail vehicles were procured mainly to reduce the stress the large volume of passengers on the Kaduna-Abuja rail route have to go through. The overwhelming number of passengers on the route and the presence of only one coach serving these millions of passengers paved way for all manner of corruption, including ticket racketeering and other sharp practices.
BDSUNDAY two weeks ago (December 24, 2017) reported how the commissioning, in June 2016, of the Abuja-Kaduna rail line has eased the stress of transportation, of both human and goods, from the capital city of Abuja to the north-western state of Kaduna, and vice versa, as well as led to increased economic activity along the corridor.
Built by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) and covering a distance of 186.5 km, the rail line has opened new vistas of economic opportunities for Nigerians as many small businesses are thriving along the route.
“While on board, I saw two young ladies in their early 20s selling snack and soft drinks. They sold a piece of meat pie snack for N300 ($0.98) and a bottle of Pepsi and Coca-Cola soft drinks for N200 ($0.65). Outside the train, the piece of snack and the bottle of drink cost half their prices but the hungry passengers never bothered as they were only interested in quenching their appetite,” wrote Odinaka Anudu, BusinessDay reporter who took the train from Rigasa to Abuja and back.
“I found that the ladies sold over 40 pieces of snack and 33 bottles of soft drinks from Kubwa to Rigasa. Hence they made N18,600 ($60.98) on a trip. Other things being equal, these ladies would be making N74,400 ($243.93) in a day,” he wrote.
This is in addition to others who use the railway to move agricultural produce, such as onions, as well as civil servants and professionals who use it because it is cheaper, faster, devoid of gridlock and insecurity issues, and does not have negative impact on their health, unlike road.
The railway station itself is providing job opportunities for people who work in different departments, while Rigasa, a community of over one million inhabitants, is seeing new opportunities in various sectors of its economy, especially real estate.
The rush to use the rail line is occasioned by the fact that the Kaduna-Abuja road is fraught with dangers, such as armed robbery and kidnapping. As a result of the rush, staff of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) reportedly colluded with racketeers to hoard tickets. Taking advantage of demand overshooting supply, the racketeers bought tickets from staff of the NRC at the official rate and resold at between N1,500 ($4.91) and N2,000 ($6.5).
“Tickets are kept for rich and connected passengers that are at home while the poor and those without connection, who are two to three hours earlier before ticket sales, are forced to use the dangerous Kaduna road because they cannot get tickets,” Anudu reported.
The commissioning of the new coaches and locomotives, Minister of Transport Rotimi Amaechi said, would address the issue of corruption on the route, paving way for a better system.
“The indication is that we will no longer see ticket racketeering, nobody will be sending us text messages and video clips of passengers protesting at the train stations because of inadequate services,” Amaechi said.
On his part, President Muhammadu Buhari, who commissioned the new trains, reiterated his administration’s resolve to vigorously implement the Federal Government’s 25-year railway master plan with a view to transforming rail transportation in Nigeria.
The Kaduna Dry Port, which the president also commissioned, is expected to have similar economic impact as it is also planned to serve other states north of the country as well as neigbouring countries of Chad, Niger, Cameroon and the Central African Republic.
The facility, gazetted on May 26, 2015, is said to be fully equipped for port operations and shipping services, international and local logistics, and freight and forwarding to the inner reaches of Northern Nigeria and their neighbours.
The dry port, which has an expansive container terminal accessible by both rail and road, is also equipped with modern cargo handling equipment and tools to facilitate quick delivery and turnaround time and is built to handle more than 29,000 containers per annum.
It has large warehouses for cargo storage, export consolidation, stuffing/unstuffing operations and groupage, as well as well-equipped technical workshop, modern examination bay, and modern Assycuda systems. Customs and other relevant agencies are also on ground at the port, just as obtains at any port the world over, while maritime experts are also available to render services for import and export business processes and procedures.
The implication is that businessmen, importers, exporters and clearing and forwarding agents in Kaduna no longer need to go to Lagos but could legitimately take delivery of their imported cargoes and forward their export goods directly to various countries from Kaduna without hindrance.
“For instance, as a shipper, I don’t need to go to Lagos to clear my goods. All I need to do is to inform my suppliers anywhere in the world that the final destination of the goods is Kaduna,” said Mohammed Kasali Abdulsalam, president, Nigeria Shippers Council (NSC), Kaduna State chapter.
“Thus, what you need to do is to just write: Lagos/Kaduna Port. When your consignment reaches Lagos, it would be in transit to the final destination which is Kaduna,” he said.
Abdulsalam said he was optimistic that activities taking place at the port would transform the state into a business and commercial hub of the North.
Apart from government employees working in the port, he said over 300,000 people would be directly employed within a period of at least five years.
“The hospitality business will also be boosted because more restaurants and hotels will be needed,” he said.
Beyond its economic impact in the North, the dry port is also expected to unlock the seemingly unending congestion in Nigerian ports occasioned by rising cargo throughput without commensurate cargo handling equipment, among other factors. Importers, exporters and their agents as well other port users have over the years groaned under the nightmare arising from incessant port congestion, especially in Lagos ports which handle up to 88.5 percent of Nigerian inbound cargo.
It would be recalled that the search for an efficient system of trade facilitation in the country led the Federal Executive Council, in 2006, to approve the establishment of Inland Container Depots (ICDs), a trade facilitation concept introduced by the NSC, in the six geopolitical zones of the federation under BOOT (Build, Own, Operate and Transfer) agreement. The project was subsequently gazetted on May 21, 2007.
The proposed locations for the ICDs are Jos (North Central), Isiala Ngwa, Aba (South East), Kano (North West), Maiduguri (North East), Ibadan (South West), and Funtua (North East).
For so long the dream remained a pipe one. Now that the jinx has been broken with the coming on board of the Kaduna Dry Port, Nigerians wait with bated breath for the others to follow suit. The economic and social impact cannot be imagined.
CHUKS OLUIGBO
