NPA unveils Eastern Ports upgrade

…Launches One-Stop Export System at Enugu Trade Fair

ENUGU — The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has unveiled a comprehensive plan to boost Nigeria’s non-oil exports, focusing on infrastructure upgrades, streamlined export processes, and full automation of port operations.

Speaking at the 37th Enugu International Trade Fair, NPA Managing Director, Abubakar Dantsoho, said the authority is repositioning the nation’s port system to connect local producers, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), to global markets.

“The strategic positioning of Enugu as the gateway to the South-Eastern hinterland presents huge opportunities for export expansion, which is the focal point of the Nigerian Ports Authority,” he said, commending the Enugu Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture for sustaining the trade fair as a platform for enterprise development and international trade engagement.

As part of its plans to drive cargo traffic and improve capacity, the NPA is investing in the rehabilitation of key eastern ports, including Onne, Warri, and Calabar, while supporting the development of new deep-seaports across the region.

“In addition to our renewed investment in Eastern Ports, we are providing technical guidance to proponents of deep-seaports to drive vessel and cargo traffic sustainably,” Dantsoho said.

Central to the NPA’s reform agenda is the establishment of Export Process Terminals (EPTs), designed to simplify and streamline export procedures. The terminals serve as one-stop shops for cargo consolidation, documentation, packaging, certification, and shipment, eliminating duplications and bureaucratic inefficiencies that previously hindered Nigerian exports.

“To further enhance efficiency and align with the Federal Government’s ease-of-doing-business agenda, we are pursuing full automation through the National Single Window (NSW) system,” Dantsoho added. “The NSW is a globally recognised platform enabling seamless interaction among all stakeholders in the trade value chain at the push of a button.”

Dantsoho also announced that the EPTs will be linked with Domestic Export Warehouses in collaboration with the Nigerian Export Promotion Council and other partners, improving port-hinterland connectivity and opening up export opportunities for businesses nationwide.

“Our doors are always open for partnerships. We have put measures in place to link value creators in the remotest part of the hinterland with demand clusters anywhere in the world,” he said, urging investors and exporters to leverage NPA’s platforms and services.