Dry Port
The Inland Dry Port (IDP) to be sited at Kajola-Papalanto by the Ogun State Government will be of immense benefits to all the people in the state.
The Commissioner for Transportation, Engr. Gbenga Dairo, gave the assurance at a stakeholders’ engagement meeting at Papalanto recently.
Engr. Dairo who noted that the state government proposed the siting of the standard dry port at Papalanto, Olorunsogo in Ewekoro Local Government Area in collaboration with Arise Group in 2023, revealed that the location of the project was carefully chosen and considered as the best option.
The commissioner said one of the comparative advantages is the standard gauge rail which intercepts with the narrow gauge rail, with its routes upward to Apapa Seaport in Lagos.
Engr. Dairo enjoined residents of the area to brace up for the emerging opportunities in that sector, saying it was high time they encouraged their wards to study relevant courses in transport and maritime.
“When this project becomes fully operational, considerations will be given to indigents who have relevant requisite, as they will be fully engaged”, he said.
The Commissioner promised that due diligence would be observed in compensating people whose properties fall within the land allocated for the project.
Speaking, the Federal Controller of Works in the state, Engr. Mrs. Forosola Oloyede, said the Federal Government through its Ministry of Works was directly involved in the project, as the agency was poised to fix federal roads along the project’s corridor, noting that good road network would aid business activities and allow easy movement of vehicles along the axis.
Earlier, the Project Engineer in the state Ministry, Engr., Olatunde Philips, said the proposed 600 hectares of land for the project would cover areas that include, Abese, Soderu and Olorunsogo villages.
Remarking, the Southwest Director of the Nigeria Shippers Council, Mr. Moses Fadipe, who described the approval from the Federal Government as unprecedented, hinted that government had a policy of situating a maximum of one IDP in each of the geo- political zones of the country, advising community leaders in the area to support government in completing the project.
Other stakeholders at the meeting were the Vice-Chairman of Ewekoro Local Government, Hon. Sunkanmi Olabode, A rise Group representative, Mr. Manoj Kumar, the Onipapa of Papalanto, Oba Rasak Famuyiwa, Elejio of Ejio, Oba Olusesan Ogunmuyiwa, among others.
