The Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) ,Kayode Opeifa has assured the Inland containers Nigeria Limited, Kaduna, on seamless movement of containers by rail from Apapa Port to Kaduna and further Kano.
Opeifa stated this recently when he received the Management Team of the Inland Containers Nigeria Limited (ICNL) led by the Managing Director Mr Omotayo Dada, at the NRC headquarters Ebute Metta on Tuesday.
The visit was sequel to one by the NRC Managing Director, to ICNL headquarters in Kaduna, which paved the way for discussion on the resumption of container movement by rail to Kaduna.
Opeifa who said the corporation is willing to partner with major movers of large containers from across the country added that only recently, the NRC entered into a partnership with APMT for the movement of containers from Apapa to the Inland Dry Port in Ibadan, Oyo State.
He said the corporation would continue to design products for companies willing to use the rail to move its cargoes, adding that with the ICNL partnership, the corporation hopes to move additional 50 to 100 containers per day from Lagos to Kano via, Apapa, Ijoko, Ilorin, Minna, and Kaduna.
Earlier, the Director of Operations and Commercial of the corporation, Mr Akin Osinowo, said the corporation is in talks with many manufacturers, including the Dangote Group of Companies and BUA, among others.
He said that the Dangote Group of companies had approached it for the movement of fertilizer by rail, just as he added that the NRC still continues to service Lafarge, taking cement consignments from Ewekoro to Osogbo and Ilorin.
He, however,said any company or terminal operator partnering with it are meant to add value to rail movement by using their size and stature to prospect new customers in order to boost the railway’s haulage capacity.
He said the ICNL is a long-standing customer of the corporation, adding that some of the factors that led to the stoppage of cargo movement ,specially on the narrow gauge are being addressed.
He said issues such as insecurity, especially between Minna and Kaduna, and the washouts of several portions of the rail tracks among others, are being aggressivel
