As part of requirements for the implementation of a national single window for efficient facilitation of import and export trades, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has successfully joined the International Port Community System Association (IPCSA).
Managing Director of NPA, Dr Abubakar Dantsoho disclosed this while speaking at a stakeholders forum on national single window implementation in Lagos.
He said that in recognition of the importance of the single window implementation, the NPA had ahead of time enlisted the technical guidance of the IMO for the deployment of the port community system (PCS), which is a precursor to the national Single Window.
“Only recently, upon our fulfillment of the necessary requirements, Nigeria was admitted as a member of the International Port Community System Association to join top-class ports in the region like Tangier Med Port of Morocco, the Port of Teman in Ghana, the Togo Port, Ivory Coast, and the Republic of Benin among others,” Dantsoho said.
The IPCSA is the international organisation representing Port Community Systems operators, Maritime Single Window operators and port authorities.
Confirming Nigeria’s membership, the IPCSA in a statement on its website said “This month, we are highlighting the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA) as one of the newest members of IPCSA since last year. NPA is advancing with several expansion and development projects. IPCSA membership is particularly significant for NPA, as they are in the process of developing a Port Community System.”
The body offered its support and that of the IMO in implementing Nigeria’s single window project.
“With the support from IPCSA and the International Maritime Organisation, they (NPA) aim to integrate the new PCS into the Nigerian National Single Window project. Both the PCS and SW are currently in the development phase, and NPA is collaborating with IPCSA and local stakeholders to ensure their successful completion,” IPCSA noted.
At the maritime forum on single window held in Lagos recently, the NPA MD noted the importance of the project and said his agency had provided leadership within the Nigerian port community.
He said: “Clearly, NPA has taken a very proactive approach to embracing ICT technologies and implementing a number of its own internal activities, in the belief that the cargo operations in our ports cannot meet international best practices without the port community system.
The national Single Window is a central piece in the modernization of our trade facilitation, and the NPA, under the visionary leadership and supervision of the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, is fully committed to a successful implementation of this programme.
“At a time like this, a phase in which Nigeria is undergoing a socio-economic turnaround, the Nigerian Port Authority will certainly strive to match the pace and expectation of the government.”
