FG may concession procurement/operations of cargo scanners at ports

ABIOLA Seun

In what to be an apparent lack of confidence in the ability and technical capacity of the Nigeria Customs Service to manage cargo scanners, the Federal Government is considering bringing in private investors to procure and operate the equipment.

It would be recalled that six years after the Destination inspection agents handed over cargo scanning equipment to the Nigeria Customs Service (NSC), the condition of these equipment have deteriorated and completed broken down, suggesting lack of technical know-how by customs to maintain the sensitive equipment.

This makes the Customs to resort to 100 per cent physical examination of cargo with its tedious and laborious process that has greatly slowed down the cargo delivery method.

It was gathered that these equipment will be on Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) basis. The Minister of Finance, Hajia Zainab Ahmed, dropped the hint last week when she disclosed to journalists that the federal government has acquired scanners to replace the faulty scanners at the nation’s seaports and land borders while additional three have been paid for.

According to her, the newly paid for scanners are hi-tech scanners that would be deployed to the seaports and airports on the Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) basis.

Recall that over $120 million scanning machines that were bequeathed to the Nigeria Customs Service by service providers, Cotecna Destination Inspection limited, Global Scan Systems and SGS scanning Nigeria Ltd in 2013 have since stopped functioning.

This has compelled the Nigeria Customs to resort to physical examination of all containers, the process, which many described as ‘‘cumbersome and time wasting”.

Apart from this, the absence of the scanners had led to increase in importation of arms, ammunitions, banned drugs such as Tramadol, Codeine and other dangerous cargoes into the country.

Speaking further, the Minister said the newly acquired scanners will be deployed on level of importance to the major seaports and airports across the country.

She said, “We have bought some scanners and there are three hi-tech scanners that have been paid for but we are waiting for delivery and the first deployment will be to the major ports.

“We will buy more and part of the single window process is that there is going to be vendor finance that is there will be a vendor that will provide scanners in all of the major seaports as well as major airports, they will run it on a Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) basis and they will exit.”

She also disclosed that the government is considering mobile scanners at land borders across the country.

Her words, “On land borders there are mobile scanners being considered but the deployment is going to be in stages starting from the most critical point where the revenues are expected to be high so we are working on the national single window platform,” she disclosed.