The Nigerian Ports Authority (''NPA'') is a federal

government agency A government or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an administrati ...

that governs and operates the

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

s of

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. The major ports controlled by the NPA include: the

Lagos Port Complex Apapa Port Complex also known as the Lagos Port Complex is Nigeria's largest and busiest port complex. The complex consist of a number of facilities including Apapa quays, Third Apapa Wharf Extension, Apapa Dockyard, Apapa Petroleum Wharf, Bulk Vege ...

and

Tin Can Island Port Tin Can Island Port (TCIP) is located in Apapa, the port for the city of Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within ...

in Lagos; Calabar Port, Delta Port, Rivers Port at Port Harcourt, and Onne Port. Operations of the NPA are carried out in affiliation with the Presidency of (Nigeria) and the

Nigerian Shippers' Council Nigerian Shippers' Council is an agency of the Federal Government of Nigeria. The council is responsible for protecting exporters and importers in Nigeria as well as its goods. The Agency is an affiliation of Nigerian Ports Authority and were und ...

. The Head

office An office is a space where an Organization, organization's employees perform Business administration, administrative Work (human activity), work in order to support and realize objects and Goals, plans, action theory, goals of the organizati ...

of the Nigerian Ports Authority is located in Marina, Lagos. However, with the concessioning programme of the federal government, which is aimed at promoting efficiency through, public and private partnership, the Nigerian Ports, has since 2005, being concessioned. This landlord arrangement as they call it, has fostered better relationship and high turn-out of goods and services in and around the Nigerian Port system either in the Eastern or the ever-busy Western zone.

History

Flag of the Nigerian Ports Authority (1955–1960)

The Nigerian Ports Authority started operating in April 1955 following the implementation of the Ports Act of 1954. In the beginning, the

public corporation A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange (l ...

managed only the Lagos and Port Harcourt ports while some private companies mangaged the remaining Nigerian ports. In addition to managing cargo handling, quay and berthing facilities at the Lagos and Port Harcourt ports, the initial law also gave it the responsibility of managing harbours and approaches to all ports in the country. By 1963 the firm had grown successfully, it was operating a

cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. Cargo ships are usu ...

from Lagos to Port Harcourt and also began dredging the Bonny terminal for oil operations. In the same year, the firm issued a £4.3 million loan stock in London. From 1962 - 1968, under the Nigerian Development plan, the length of the quays was expanded and additional warehouses and cargo handling equipment were added. During the

Nigerian Civil War The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Nigerian–Biafran War or the Biafran War, was a civil war fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence f ...

that lasted from 1967-1969, only the Lagos Port was functioning and some parts of the port in Port Harcourt was damaged. In 1969, a new decree added

Burutu Burutu is a Local Government Area in Delta State, Nigeria. It lies on the coast of the Niger Delta on two sides of the Forcados River, a channel of the River Niger, upstream from the Bight of Benin. It has served as a link between river tran ...

Calabar Calabar (also referred to as Callabar, Calabari, Calbari and Kalabar) is the capital city of Cross River State, Nigeria. It was originally named Akwa Akpa, in the Efik language. The city is adjacent to the Calabar and Great Kwa rivers and cre ...

and

Warri The city of Warri is an oil hub within South-South Nigeria and houses an annex of the Delta State Government House. Warri City is one of the major hubs of the petroleum industry in Nigeria. Warri and her twin city, Uvwie are the commercial c ...

ports to its jurisdiction. The firm took control of the Warri port from John Holt and Burutu from UAC. However, by the early 1970s, the Lagos port was battling congestion. In 1973, the corporation entered into an agreement with the World Bank to finance expansion of facilities within the ports.

Cement armada

In 1974, the Nigerian Ministry of Defense began a program of building various barracks to house almost all of its soldiers. Towards the end of the year, the Ministry began a process of issuing offers to various companies for cement delivery. Though less than 3 million tonnes of cement was needed yearly, the ministry ended up offering letters of delivery for 16 million tonnes to be delivered within a year. Other government agencies such as the Federal Housing Authority and the Nigerian National Supply Company also ordered about 4 million tonnes of cement to be delivered within a year. By the end of November 1974 to late 1975, about 400 cement ships berthed at the Lagos port leading to unprecedented congestion and increasing the turn around time of hundreds of ships to 180 days.

Expansion

NPA accelerated the expansion of port facilities after the end of the cement armada. The government spent over 190 million

naira The naira (sign: ₦; code: NGN) is the currency of Nigeria. One naira is divided into 100 ''kobo''. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is the sole issuer of legal tender money throughout the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It controls the volume ...

to complete the Tin Can Island port with two roll on roll off facilities. It built a third wharf in Apapa and expanded facilities at the Warri and Calabar ports. It also constructed three lighter terminals in Kiri Kiri, Onne and Ikorodu.

Concessioning

During the administration of

Olusegun Obasanjo Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo, , ( ; yo, Olúṣẹ́gun Ọbásanjọ́ ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian political and military leader who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its pres ...

, a ports reform program was put in place to reduce inefficiency at the ports. The result was the concessioning of about 24 terminals to private operators for a certain period of time. NPA will continue to act as the landlord and provide common user facilities, technical oversight and other marine services. The private operators will be involved in loading and offloading of cargoes.

Facilities

Lagos Port Complex

This is the

Apapa Apapa is a Local Government Area in Lagos, located to the west of Lagos Island. Apapa contains a number of ports and terminals operated by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), including the major port of Lagos State and Lagos Port Complex (LPC ...

port in Lagos. Together with the Tin Can Island Port, it serves mainly Lagos and western Nigeria. The Lagos Port Complex serves as the major economic door to the nation.

Tin Can Island Port

Tin Can Island Port at Lagos was hastily constructed in 1976 to ameliorate the problems of the 1975 'cement armada' crisis. It was commissioned on 14 October 1977 at a total cost of N200 million and comprised 10 berths and 2.5 kilometres of hard quay.

Calabar Port

Located in the southeast corner of the country in

Cross River State ) , image_map = Nigeria - Cross River.svg , map_alt = , map_caption = Location of Cross River State in Nigeria , coordinates = , coor_pinpoint ...

is the home of the Eastern Naval Command of the

Nigerian Navy The Nigerian Navy (NN) is a branch of the Nigerian Armed Forces. It is among the largest navies on the African continent, consisting of several thousand personnel, including those of the Coast Guard. History The Nigerian Navy owes its origin to ...

. This is the longest serving port and also the oldest seaport in Nigeria. Port facilities are located 55

nautical mile A nautical mile is a unit of length used in air, marine, and space navigation, and for the definition of territorial waters. Historically, it was defined as the meridian arc length corresponding to one minute ( of a degree) of latitude. Today ...

s up the

Calabar River The Calabar River in Cross River State, Nigeria flows from the north past the city of Calabar, joining the larger Cross River about to the south. The river at Calabar forms a natural harbor deep enough for vessels with a draft of . The Calabar ...

Delta Port

Delta Port, Rivers Port and Onne Port are located in the

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...

and

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...

producing

Niger River Delta The Niger Delta is the delta of the Niger River sitting directly on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean in Nigeria. It is located within nine coastal southern Nigerian states, which include: all six states from the South South geopolitical ...

region of Nigeria. Delta Port in Delta State includes the ports of

Sapele ''Entandrophragma cylindricum'' is a tree of the genus '' Entandrophragma'' of the family ''Meliaceae''. It is commonly known as sapele or sapelli ( ) or sapele mahogany, as well as aboudikro, assi, and muyovu. Origin of the name The name ''sa ...

and petroleum terminals at Escravos and Forcados.

Rivers Port/Port Harcourt

The Rivers Port Complex in coastal

Rivers State Rivers State, also known as Rivers, is a state in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria (Old Eastern Region). Formed in 1967, when it was split from the former Eastern Region, Rivers State borders include: Imo to the north, Abia and Akwa Ib ...

comprises

Port of Port Harcourt The Port of Port Harcourt also called PH Port, is a port complex located in Port Harcourt, Rivers State Rivers State, also known as Rivers, is a state in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria (Old Eastern Region). Formed in 1967, when it w ...

, Okrika Refined Petroleum Oil Jetty, Haastrup/Eagle Bulk Cement Jetty, Kidney Island Jetty, Ibeto Jetty, Macobar Jetty and Bitumen Jetty. Management of port operations at Port Harcourt itself has been commissioned out to two

port operator A port operator is a port authority or company that contracts with the port authority to move cargo through a port at a contracted minimum level of productivity. They may be state-owned (particularly for port authorities) or privately run. The work ...

s, Ports and Terminal Operators and BUA Ports and Terminal, it is not operated by the NPA. Like Delta State, Rivers State is a principal petroleum-producing region of Nigeria.

Onne Port

Onne Onne also known as Onne-Eleme, is a town in Eleme, Rivers, Eleme, Rivers State, Nigeria. The town is a host to one of the two prominent ports in Nigeria. It is bordered by the towns of Alode, Ebubu and Ngololo Creek, a tributary of Bonny River. P ...

is located in Rivers State on Ngololo Creek near the

Bonny River Bonny River is a river in Rivers State, Nigeria. Water taxis which move along the river provide the connection between Bonny Island and Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State, which lies alongside the river. See also *Bonny Light oil *Niger D ...

, 19 km from Port Harcourt; the port area is located in Eleme Local Government Area ( Eleme LGA ) of Rivers State. The port consists of two major facilities, the Federal Ocean Terminal and the Federal Lighter Terminal. Onne Port has been designated as an Oil and Gas Free Zone by the government of Nigeria; currently over 100

companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...

have licenses to work at Onne Port; as an economic free zone it serves as a hub port for oil and gas operations throughout

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...

and

Central Africa Central Africa is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries according to different definitions. Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, ...

.Nigerian Ports Authority, Our Ports, Onne Port
/ref>

References

{{Authority control * Transport authorities in Nigeria Organizations based in Lagos Niger River Delta Port authorities Calabar