Maiduguri’s Jauri Inland Dry Port will provide job opportunities for youth, boost transborder trade with neighbours and accrue substantial revenue for state and federal governments.

The multibillion-naira Jauri Inland Dry Port in Maiduguri – which is expected to provide hundreds of job opportunities to young people in Borno State and significantly boost transborder trade – will begin operations in six months.

Borno State governor Babagana Umara Zulum made the disclosure on Wednesday, August 14, in Lagos while addressing journalists after he paid a courtesy call to the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) headquarters in Apapa.

The inland dry port will have a capacity of 10,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs). It is currently at 5% completion.

Zulum said not only would the inland dry port provide job opportunities to the youth and boost the state’s economy, but it would also bring shipping services to the doorstep of the hinterland and turn Borno State into an investment haven and a regional hub.

He emphasised the socioeconomic benefits the dry port would bring to the state, particularly in enhancing trade and transportation within Nigeria and with neighbouring countries, given Borno’s strategic location bordering Chad, Cameroon and the Niger Republic.

Zulum said the dry port would serve not only the state but also its neighbours, adding that it would reduce the overall costs of cargo to hinterland locations.

It would also accrue substantial revenue for both the state and federal governments.

He acknowledged the challenges the project has faced, including security issues, but said his administration would do whatever it took within the law to promote the establishment of the inland dry port.

“Establishing the inland dry port in Maiduguri will bring many opportunities to the government and the people of Borno State. It will generate employment, taking thousands of young people off the street. This is very important.

“Borno State shares a border with three countries, Niger, Chad and Cameroon. The inland dry port will enhance transborder trade. This is what we are looking for. The relationship between us and our border countries will be enhanced, the economy of the nation will grow very well and our gross domestic product will increase,” Zulum said.

“We are trying to divert our attention from a mono-economy, which is oil, by investing in trade infrastructure and other opportunities. I think Nigeria will be great soon.

“The federal government is working to ensure rail lines are rehabilitated under President Bola Tinubu’s initiatives. They are in the process of rehabilitating all the roads and thousands of trucks are entering Maiduguri daily.”

Zulum said the establishment of a good road system would fast-track the process.

“So that will not be a problem. Even in the absence of rail, the efficiency and effectiveness of the road transportation system are okay for now for the inland dry port. We expect the project to be ready in six months.”

Pius Akutah, the executive secretary of the NSC, said the Jauri Inland Dry Port would boost transborder trade with the neighbouring countries of Chad, Niger and Cameroon.

“Like the governor has said, it is important for Borno State, which shares borders with these three countries, to have an inland dry port. The benefits that will accompany such a facility cannot be overemphasised.

“With the African Continental Free Trade Agreement [AfCFTA] in place, you cannot overemphasise the need to have this kind of critical infrastructure in a place like Maiduguri, Borno State, that has a boundary with three countries in the region.

Akutah praised Zulum’s dedication and urgency in advancing the project within six months, saying the inland dry port would play a pivotal role in the country’s diversification and international trade.

“I have been to Borno and I have seen the consistency of the governor in terms of his words – and in his passion for the development of Borno State.

“When he said six months, I believe him and I know the work will be done. For instance, the transit park area which the governor has developed is a critical infrastructure that will serve the inland dry port.

“Now what needs to be done is for those involved to look at the political will of the governor to see how quickly they can agree among themselves to ensure the project becomes a reality.”

Akutah said the inland dry port was a business initiative, a public-private partnership.

It was not up to the government to drive the day-to-day running of the inland dry port. That should be undertaken by the private sector.

“The two entities involved should come together to fast-track the process of harmonising and agreeing among themselves.”

According to the NSC, the country currently has seven inland dry ports, though only two have been completed.

Abdurrahman Bundi, the senior special adviser to the Borno State governor on new media, told RNI that the government had already built critical infrastructure, such as the Maiduguri trailer park and other state-of-the-art facilities to fast-track the construction and operations of the inland dry port.

“This project is multifaceted in the sense that it is a collective project in which the federal and state governments, as well as the private sector, have a major role to play in completing the project in the next six months to ensure enhanced transborder trade in the Lake Chad region.

“The inland dry port will be located in the state capital, along the Maiduguri-Damaturu road, close to the newly constructed modern trailer park. The project will go a long way to create job opportunities for the youth and boost the economy of the state. It will attract foreign investors which will aid in enhancing the gross domestic product of Nigeria as a whole.”

SHETTIMA LAWAN MONGUNO