Nigeria’s first Domestic Export Warehouse (DEW) is set to open at the Kaduna Inland Dry Port (KIDP), an official has disclosed
The DEW is to promote export of locally made goods and agricultural produce.
Port General Manager, Rotimi Raimi-Hassan, who disclosed this at a media parley in Lagos, said the facility is ready to be launched.
According to him, KIDP is set for commissioning to pilot the DEW services as the most equipped facility in Nigeria with a modern laboratory to check quality of exports that would be processed through the dry port.
He further disclosed that about 10 trucks are ready for deployment and that KIDP has judiciously utilised the Export Expansion Facility Grant from the Federal Government under the office of the Vice President to achieve hitch free logistics.
On storage and durability of perishable goods, Raimi-Hassan said a cold room with capacity for 50 tonnes of cargo has been put in place to serve as a reefer container to keep export cargoes preserved at the required temperature to meet market demands.
The warehouse, according to him, has 4,000 square meters to do aggregation, consolidation and complete packaging of all types of export within the KIDP facility.
He commended the Federal Government, Kaduna State Government, the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) and other government agencies for their support towards the success of the DEW project.
“Arrangements have also been made for exporters to have their cargoes processed for direct shipment. What I mean is that from Kaduna Dry Port, the cargoes are loaded into ships without any stoppage, reexamination or delay on transit. The Federal Government has approved an inter-agency arrangement involving all relevant government regulatory and enforcement agencies to implement this.
“The other privileges like ETO for improved traffic situation and Nigeria Customs Service Nigeria Integrated Customs Information System (NICIS) 2 are some of the technology aided platforms to improve trade that we are embracing too,” Raimi-Hassan added.
