The federal government has revealed plans to roll out the National Single Window (NSW) as part of efforts to cut the cost of doing business in Nigerian ports by at least 25 per cent.
The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adeboyega Oyetola, disclosed in Lagos on Tuesday at a stakeholders’ forum that the implementation of the Single Window System will enhance efficiency and potentially reduce costs by at least 25 per cent.
The World Bank highlights that the cost of doing business at Nigerian ports can be up to 40 per cent higher than in other West African countries due to delays and administrative bottlenecks, resulting in an estimated annual revenue loss of ₦2.5 trillion for the business community.
He said, “By streamlining operations, improving transparency, and minimizing delays, the system not only drives cost savings but also strengthens overall trade facilitation. The cumulative impact across all areas, including reduced costs, enhanced efficiency, and greater transparency, ultimately contributes to the overall ease of doing business.”
Oyetola stated that the federal government is prioritizing multimodal connectivity to boost trade and reduce transportation costs, with the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration focusing on improving road, rail, and inland waterway links to and from the ports to enhance logistics and trade.
Speaking at the stakeholders’ forum on the establishment of the National Single Window (NSW) in Lagos, Oyetola said his ministry, in collaboration with the Lagos State government, is committed to implementing the initiative.
“Government, cleared the age-long Apapa–Tincan–Mile 2 traffic for landside operations and provided tugboats, mooring boats, pilot cutters, bollards, and fenders across all port locations for effective seaside operations.
“We maximised crane productivity and ensured a reduced transit time for vessels and trucks. These led to a reduction in both the vessel and truck turnaround times.
“The vessel turn-around time went down from an average of 7 days to an average of 5 days, while truck turn-around time went from an average of 10 days to a few hours. But we are not resting on our oars, as our ultimate goal is to make Nigeria the hub of maritime in West Africa,” he said.
The minister added that efforts are underway to revamp existing ports, starting with Apapa and Tin Can Island Ports as pilot projects, noting that the modernization will address ageing facilities nearing the end of their economic lifespan and improve hinterland connectivity.
“We are also encouraging private-sector participation in developing greenfield ports and other infrastructure projects. Additionally, the NPA has acquired two state-of-the-art tugboats to strengthen its fleet, with plans to procure more marine crafts to boost operational efficiency,” he added.
Also speaking, the Managing Director, of Nigerian Ports Authority, Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho, said the implementation of NSW interconnects all stakeholders involved in foreign trade and enables them to perform trade procedures on one platform, adding that it provides a comprehensive online environment for all governmental and business users such as importers, exporters, commercial banks, carriers, Customs, ministries, and other government agencies to perform trade operations.
He said the Single Window operation is the global trade best practice for the electronic exchange of information relating to over 500 million TEU movements and billions of tonnes of cargo for sea, air, and land transport modes.
“This concrete move by His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to implement the NSW in Nigeria is pivotal to deepening the competitiveness of our Ports and position the good people of Nigeria to reap greater benefits from global trade.
The purpose of the Port Community System (PCS) is primarily for Nigeria to comply with the dictates of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Convention on Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic (FAL) whose main objectives are to prevent unnecessary delays in maritime traffic, to aid cooperation between governments, and to secure the highest practicable degree of uniformity in formalities and other procedures,” he noted.
He pointed out that in recognition of the importance of this noble objective, the NPA had ahead of time enlisted the technical guidance of the IMO for the deployment of the Port Community System (PCS), which is the precursor to the NSW, and only recently upon our fulfilment of the requirements, Nigeria was admitted as a member of the International Port Community System Association (IPCSA) to join top-class ports in the region, like Tangier Med Port of Morocco, Ghana, Togo, Ivory Coast, Benin Republic amongst others.
“Furthermore, the Nigerian Ports Authority recognized the importance of Single Window and has planned and implemented its strategy and provided leadership within the Nigerian Ports Community.
The Authority has taken a very proactive approach to embracing ICT technologies in implementing a number of its internal activities. This is due to the belief that cargo operations in our Ports cannot meet International Standards without the Port Community System.
“The National Single Window is a central piece in the modernization of our trade facilitation, and the Nigerian Ports Authority, under the supervision of His Excellency, Alhaji Adegboyega Oyetola CON, Honourable Minister of Marine & Blue Economy, is fully committed to its successful implementation,” he added.
The NPA boss added that It is worthy of note that while repositioning Nigerian Ports to maintain regional and continental competitiveness, the Authority has embarked on process reengineering aimed at aligning the Authority’s functions with the objectives of the NSW and ensure parity with regional competitors, focusing on seamless data availability and enhanced transparency.
“I would like to emphasize that our mission is to position Nigeria as the transhipment hub in West Africa, and with our strategic location, a population of over 200 million people, and a large market, Nigerian Ports have the potential to become the leading transhipment hub in the African region.
Neighbourings have the potential to serve as a transit port to land-locked countries since out of the 44 land-locked countries in the world, 16 are in Africa.
“However, this potential is currently constrained by infrastructure challenges and competition as neighbouring countries continue to develop their port’s infrastructure. However, the upcoming Port Modernization projects aim to bridge this gap and ensure that our ports remain competitive with regional counterparts.
“There is no doubt that the implementation of the Port Community System is necessarily complex and, therefore, does not happen quickly. Consequently, the Nigerian Ports Authority has been consistent in its efforts since the year 2011 to fully operate the PCS,” he stressed.
