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The Council initiated and, upon the approval of the Federal Ministry of Transport, financed a Feasibility Study for the establishment of Inland Container Depots/Freight Stations in Aba (Isiala Ngwa), Bauchi, Ibadan, Jos, Kano, Katsina, Gombe and Maiduguri. A foreign consultant – Hamburg Port Consulting (HPC), Germany, handled the study.
The following factors led to the above decision:
- The fact that Nigeria is a coastal country with large hinterland
- Seaport problems such as congestion, cargo clearance delays, high demurrage, sharp practices resulting in shipping business costing more
- Near obsolescence of cargo transport by rail
- Unreliability of road haulage
Based on the report of the study, the Federal Government has embarked on the implementation of these ICDs in a phased manner. An ICD Implementation Committee was established with the Nigerian Shippers' Council as the implementing agency and would supervise and monitor the project on behalf of the Federal Government . The project is being executed on the BOOT (Build, Own, Operate and Transfer) Model.
The Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) model put the onus of building the ICD facility on private sector firms. They will build the ICD, equip and operate it as their own. After operating the facility for 25 years, the firms will transfer ownership to the Federal Government.
This model also requires the Federal government to provide land free of all encumbrances to the operators who are also given some tax and other incentives.
The recent change of government Policy from pre-shipment inspection to Destination Inspection at Nigerian ports is applicable also to the ICDs. Scanning and computerization system of clearing guidelines and procedures for clearing of Cargo will be the same in the ICDs.
The Inland Container Depot (ICD) is a common user facility with Public Authority status equipped with fixed installations and offering services for handling and temporary storage of import/export laden and empty containers carried under Customs control and with Customs and other agencies competent to clear goods for home use, warehousing, temporary admissions, re-export, temporary storage for onward transit and outright export. Trans-shipment of cargo can also take place from such stations. It is the equivalent of a seaport located in the hinterland. It receives containers by rail from the seaport for examination and clearance by customs. It has all the loading and non- loading equipments needed to handle container cargo.
The ICDs are expected to achieve the following amongst others:
- Bring shipping services to the doorstep of shippers across the nation.
- Assist in decongesting the seaports and make them more user-friendly.
- Help revive and modernise the railway as a primary mode for the long distance haulage of cargo.
- Assist in the reduction of overall cost of cargo.
- Transit cargo to Landlocked neighbouring countries
- Integration of surface transportation of containers;
- Cargo consolation point and custom clearance establishment close to areas of production and consumption;
- A comprehensive cargo sorting centre and a temporary cargo facility.
The benefits of ICDs are:
- Establishment of customs clearance facility close to production and consumption centers,
- Improved container usage and reduction in the movement of empty containers;
- Improved turn around time of ships thereby reducing demurrage and avoiding pilferage;
- Issuance of “Through Bill of Lading” by Shipping lines and thereby assuming liability from dispatch to destination ports;
- Lower freight to increase trade flows;
- Optimal use of surface transport and the decongestion of the sea ports;
- Reduction in marine pollution activities around the seaport.
- Easy and safe access to international shipping facilities in the hinterland giving a boost to inland trading;
- Revitalization of export agriculture leading to multi- product economy and the avoidance of employment opportunities stemming urban-rural drift and increase in revenue to the government
- Rehabilitation of the surface transport system and enhanced usage of containers.
- Reducing the pressure on the roads and avoiding the carriage on the road.
The 1st phase of implementation has been completed and preferred concessionaires secured for Funtua, Ibadan, Isiala Ngwa, Jos, Kano and Maiduguri respectively.
The list of successful preferred concessionaires are as follows:
| Name |
Location |
| 1. Equatorial Marine Limited |
Funtua |
| 2. Catamaran Logistics Limited. |
Ibadan |
| 3. Eastgate Inland Container Terminal Ltd. |
Isiala Ngwa |
| 4. Duncan Maritime Ventures Limited |
Jos |
| 5. Dala Inland Dry Port Limited |
Kano |
| 6. Migfo Nigeria Limited |
Maiduguri |
On 16th May 2006, the BOOT Agreements were signed with the concessionaires. The BOOT Agreements are legal documents that clearly identify the Federal Government as the Grantor and the Concessionaires as the Operators. The Honorable Minister of Transport signed on behalf of the Federal Government, while the Directors signed for their firms.
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