Mohammed Bello-Koko, acting managing director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), says deliberate measures and investments are being taken to create a fully digital ecosystem in all the country’s port locations by 2025.

NAN reports that Ibrahim Nasiru, assistant manager of the agency’s corporate and strategic communications division, quoted the NPA boss as saying this in a statement on Saturday.

According to the statement, Bello-Koko spoke at the 41st Ports Management Association of West and Central Africa (PMAWCA) annual council meeting and 16th round-table conference of managing directors of PMAWCA, in Douala, the capital of Cameroon.

He informed the delegates that a lot of work had gone into the smart port transformation agenda of the authority, which is aimed at enthroning paperless, time-saving and cost-efficient port operations.

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He was represented at the event by Idris Abubakar, executive director, engineering and technical services, NPA.

Bello-Koko said the adoption by NPA of a phased ICT deployment was geared towards achieving a fully integrated port operating system.

He also said it would foster relationships with all internal and external stakeholders, streamline NPA’s internal business processes, make use of high-end smart technologies, and record, monitor and utilise data for better decision making.

“A five year plan is now being implemented by the authority for the attainment of a fully digitalised port system in Nigeria,” Bello-Koko said.

“So far, the authority has deployed a portfolio of systems and infrastructure towards the actualisation of its ICT objectives.

“These include Oracle Enterprise Business Suite for financial and human resources planning; Billing/Revenue and Invoice Management System (RIMS) to fast-track billing processing; Customer Portal/electronic Ship Entry Notice (eSEN)/Manifest Upload for shipping traffic management.

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“Others are: Hyperion Budgeting for management of annual budget; Command, Control, Communication and Intelligence System (3Ci) for maritime domain awareness.

“And also management of vessel calls; truck call up and gate access control for the control and schedule of trucks to the ports as well as manage truck traffic around the port corridor.”

He said with the international supply chain faced with several disruptions, the authority intends to focus on the smartness level of the port rather than size in order to optimise productivity and meet the expectations of port users.

According to him, the goal of NPA is to leverage technology to close the gap between Nigerian ports and the major international ports.

“A digitalised port helps in making better informed operational decisions, increased efficiency, improved collaboration amongst stakeholders, and lower port costs,” he added.

“Ultimately, it will help to meet the ever increasing customer expectations in a timely manner.”

TheCable