To ease the operation of doing business, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) is planning to create its own electricity at the port. The NPA Managing Director, Mr. Omar Suleiman, revealed this at a lecture where he was conferred as a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Transport. Although Suleiman did not reveal when the project will commence, the organization has already acquired a plot of land to this effect.

According to Punch Newspapers, the proposed independent power project by the NPA is coming less than six weeks after the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission issued regulations to enable state and local governments, communities and private firms with financial capability to generate and distribute electricity within their areas. The NPA boss said this move has become necessary given the port’s complex management and intensive capital.

The port has already began the provision of rail access, decongestion of ports access roads, as well as pushing for early passage of the new Port Act currently before the National Assembly. It has also upgraded its Information and Communication Technology facilities and now has a common network with the Nigerian Customs Service and other port users.

As part of the reform, Suleiman revealed that NPA has been able to create more jobs. In addition to this achievement, vessels turn-around time has been reduced, and documents are now processed faster. Meanwhile, he also disclosed the falling cost of doing business in Nigerian Ports as “issues of various surcharges” due to the multiplicity of government agencies at the Port. “They cannot come back again as they used to do in the past, whenever we send them out because this time around, we have a president who has put his foot down and said things must be done properly,” he said.