NPA moves to upgrade inland dry ports, seeks private-sector investment
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The Nigerian Ports Authority has opened talks with inland dry port operators on fixing rail and logistics gaps, and is courting private investment to upgrade the facilities as cargo volumes rise.
The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has moved to address rail connectivity and logistics challenges affecting the country’s inland dry ports, as part of efforts to integrate the facilities into the national port system and improve cargo movement across the country.
The move followed a meeting between NPA management led by its Managing Director, Dr Abubakar Dantsoho, and the Executive Director of Dala Inland Dry Port, Ahmad Rabiu, alongside representatives of Funtua Inland Dry Port, at the authority’s corporate headquarters in Marina, Lagos. The engagement came after the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Dr Adegboyega Oyetola, directed the transfer of operational oversight of inland dry ports to the NPA.
The discussions focused on strengthening institutional collaboration, addressing infrastructure constraints and improving operational efficiency across Nigeria’s maritime logistics chain. Dantsoho stressed the need to upgrade inland dry port infrastructure and technical capacity to complement modernisation at the seaports. “For our Inland Dry Ports to function at the same velocity as the ongoing modernisation across our seaports, we must proactively upgrade dry port infrastructure and technical capacity,” he said, adding that the integration of digital platforms such as the Port Community System and the National Single Window at seaports must be matched by corresponding improvements at the dry ports.
The NPA managing director also called for increased private-sector investment in inland dry port infrastructure, noting that stronger investment would be critical to improving cargo-handling capacity and operational efficiency. He cited APM Terminals’ establishment of an Export Processing Terminal in northern Nigeria as an example of private-sector participation in the development of inland logistics infrastructure.
Dantsoho assured stakeholders that efforts to optimise the inland port system were underway and confirmed plans to visit the Dala and Funtua facilities to assess their operational conditions and infrastructure requirements.