By Christian George
In as much as the arrival of cargoes at Lekki Port in Lagos State is a welcome development, truck owners have predicted heavy traffic in the area due to the absence of Truck Holding Bay.
The Chairman of the Association of Maritime Truck Owners, Chief Remi Ogungbemi, in a chat with Nigerian Tribune, explained that over 500 trucks belonging to his group have headed towards Lekki port in anticipation of businesses.
He said that the absence of Truck Holding Bay is a serious challenge as it has seen serious traffic as trucks scramble for space to park.
He lamented that the operators of the port had proposed a bay for trucks but this has not been functional yet.
In his words, “It is a welcome development that we now have cargoes at Lekki Port. Some of our members, about 500 in number have headed towards the port since we heard of the arrival of the container vessel. Some importers have been reaching out to our members about cargo evacuation processes.
“However, the problem we might have with the new port is the absence of a Truck Holden Bay.”
He noted that without a Truck Holden Bay, trucks calling at Lekki Port will be forced to park on the highways, and this will clog the roads, thus causing traffic chaos.
Since the first container vessel arrived at the weekend, some of its members have moved towards the Lekki Port because there are cargoes that will need to get moved out of the ports.
“Trucks go to where cargoes abound. The issue is just the lack of a Holden Bay for trucks. Without such a facility, trucks will park on the roads, and that will become a problem for the port,” he added.
