NSC to develop standard operating procedures for vehicle transit areas



The Executive Secretary of Nigeria Shippers’ Council (NSC) Mr. Hassan Bello has said that the council shall develop Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for the Vehicle Transit Areas (VTAs).
He stated this in his address to the stakeholders meeting for the Validation of Draft National Policy on Vehicle Transit Areas.

According to him, It will define minimum standards required for operating the various categories of the VTAs in the Country. It shall cover Operating standards and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), security requirements, manpower, waste and traffic throughput management.


Mr. Bello said, “The rationale for the promotion of the development of Vehicle Transit Areas is to provide a modern short term resting place for drivers with a view to ensuring safety and reducing loss of lives and goods caused by accident arising from fatigue.
“The interest of the Nigerian Shippers‘ Council (NSC) in this endeavour is to defend the entire transportation value chain particularly in the Land segment.”
It is on this premise that the federal government through the Federal Ministry of Transportation assembled industry experts, relevant stakeholders like Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), Federal Roads Safety Corps (FRSC), Federal Ministry of Finance, the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) and many others to draw-up this draft policy.


The Policy framework and implementation guidelines among other things aim to:
“Identify gaps in sub-transport infrastructure considering the land mass of Nigeria and the economic development potential of the six geo-political zones in the country.
“Provide construction guidelines, priorities and facilities for the development of VTAs on identified road/freight corridors identified in the six (6) geo-political zones
“Provide the framework for driving intermodal integration of VTAs with IDPs, coastal/seaports, River Ports, Airports, Free Trade zones, Agro Processing zones, Industrial Parks, Border Posts, etc., along high Freight corridors.”

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