Nigeria: $600k plan to tackle bottlenecks at key border crossing – Minister of state for transportation says

The Nigerian government has commissioned a series of improvements to eliminate cargo bottlenecks at one of Africa’s busiest border points.

Minister of State for Transportation, Prince Ademola Adegoroye, said improvements at the Seme-Krake joint border post between Nigeria and Benin were part of a drive to improve trade with the ECOWAS economic bloc.

The border post, one of the busiest cargo crossing points not only in West Africa but the entire continent, lies on the key Lagos-Cotonou-Lome-Accra-Abidjan corridor.

Adegoroye said upgrades worth $600,000 would include covering walkways and improving water treatment plans.

The government has also declared Funtua Inland Dry Port in Katsina State as a port of origin – a move which allows it to clear and forward international cargo.

The port was created in 2006 but only now has it been granted customs facilities that allow it to process international freight.

The Ministry of Transportation said Katsina State was a vital part of the Trans-Saharan trade route, handling huge amounts of agricultural produce.