The Customs Area Controller (CAC) Tin Can Island Port, Comptroller Dera Nnadi, has announced that the Port’s cargo Time Release Study (TRS) is set to be unveiled in September this year.
The TRS to be unveiled to the international community is coming despite several challenges encountered in collating data.
The World Customs Organisation (WCO) assisted TRS was launched in Tincan Island Port (TICP) in February 2024 to determine the length of time it takes to clear a cargo at the Port.
Nnadi made the announcement while fielding questions from the maritime press on the activities of his Command for the half year 2024 at the headquarters of the Maritime Reporters Association of Nigeria (MARAN).
Nnadi who supervises the ongoing TRS at Tin Can Port, Apapa said his officers and men encountered several challenges during the course of the study, but excited to hint that the report will be released in September.
He said: “We had challenges in carrying out the Time Release Study and the biggest challenge was apathy on the side of port users.
“The port is a very dynamic environment and people are always in a hurry to clear their goods. So, it is extremely difficult to have them respond to questionnaires.
“But we had to be very creative to get the responses of the importers. We had to organise meetings both physical and on Zoom in order to get the importers and clearing agents involvement in the study.
“We were given a target of 600 respondents but we had to increase the number to 1,000 because Nigeria is a big country.
“We needed to ensure that we are able to cover an extensive sample large enough to fairly represent the population of the international trade community in Nigeria.”
Nnadi further explained that Tin Can Port was chosen for the TRS because of the delay in cargo release which the Port was already noted for.
He however noted that there has been a significant improvement since after the clearing of the port access roads and reactivation of night operation at the Tin can Port.
He said all agencies in the port and captains of industry who make up the country’s National Trade Facilitation Committee are involved in the TRS, whose outcome is expected to show the way to shorter period for release of goods from the port and improve cargo turnaround time significantly.
The WCO Time Release Study is a strategic and internationally recognised tool to measure the actual time required for the release and/or clearance of goods, from the time of arrival until the physical release of cargo, with a view to finding bottlenecks in the trade flow process and taking necessary measures to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of border procedures.
The updated version of the WCO TRS Guide, known as the “Guide to Measure the Time required for the Release of Goods (Version 3)” incorporates a number of key features/elements.
It brings forward new dynamics and opportunities for Customs administrations to work in a collaborative manner with other relevant government agencies and trade stakeholders in the arena of performance measurement.