NPA, World Bank parley over implementation of Port Community System

In line with plans to implement the Single Window platform at Nigerian ports, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mr. Mohammed Bello-Koko on Tuesday met with some World Bank officials on the sidelines of the ongoing IAPH World Port Conference holding in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates to further discuss efforts geared towards implementing a sustainable Port Community System (PCS) at Nigerian ports.

In a statement posted on his X (formerly Twitter) handle on Tuesday, Mr. Mohammed Bello-Koko said that the World Bank is expected to provide advisory support on the technical, legal, and governance frameworks for the deployment and implementation of a sustainable Port Community system.

According to the NPA Managing Director, “I am in Abu Dhabi for the next couple of days to attend the IAPH World Port Conference, a leading maritime event planner with almost 70 years of experience bringing stakeholders together to learn, share ideas, and collaborate.

“Of particular interest to us, @NigerianPorts are the innovation roundtable discussions to help us achieve our digitization goals and the impact of zero-carbon fuels as we move towards a sustainable blue economy.

“On the sidelines of the event, we met with Mr. Periklis Saragiotis and Satya Prasad Sahu of the World Bank. This is geared towards working with the Bank to provide advisory support on the technical, legal, and governance frameworks for the deployment and implementation of a sustainable Port Community system.”

Recall that the lack of a Port Community System at Nigerian ports meant that government agencies operating at the ports have continued to work at cross-purposes, slowing down the logistic trade channel and leading to increased cost of doing business.