Apapa access road overloaded with 7,000 trucks daily – NPA

The Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Dr Abubakar Dantsoho, revealed that the Apapa access road, designed for 2,400 trucks daily, handled over 7,000 trucks. At the African Ports Conference in Casablanca, Morocco, Dantsoho discussed the impact of this congestion on port operations. He emphasized the need for coordinated reforms across port infrastructure, transport corridors and digital systems to tackle the issue.

Dantsoho stated that the NPA started by addressing fundamental operational challenges before moving towards more advanced technologies. The reforms, including the Eto electronic truck call-up system and the National Single Window, have led to significant improvements in Nigeria's port performance. The World Bank's 2025 Container Port Performance Index ranked Tin Can Island Port at 10th and Apapa Port at 12th among the world's most improved ports.

Despite these improvements, Dantsoho stressed that the transformation is ongoing and highlighted the importance of building robust digital infrastructure before expanding AI deployment. He also called for cybersecurity considerations to be integrated into infrastructure projects from the design stage, emphasizing that African ports cannot effectively address cybersecurity threats and operational inefficiencies through isolated national efforts.