NPA, PEBEC Aim to Unlock Economic Potential with 7-Day Cargo Dwell Time

NPA, PEBEC Aim to Unlock Economic Potential with 7-Day Cargo Dwell Time

By prince Benson Davies

The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) have joined forces to reduce cargo dwell time to 7 days, a move aimed at boosting the ease of doing business and unlocking the nation’s economic potential. The two organizations recently concluded a three-day high-level stakeholder engagement in Lagos, which brought together key stakeholders from the ports and customs sector.

The stakeholder engagement, themed “Achieving a Seven-Day Cargo Dwell Time,” was designed to identify practical solutions to streamline port processes and improve efficiency. The NPA has already made significant progress in implementing PEBEC reforms, achieving a 100% success rate and ranking fifth among agencies in 2025 with an 84.2% compliance rating.

The PEBEC Director General, Zahrah Mustapha, emphasized that the initiative is about resilience and unlocking the nation’s economic potential. She noted that Nigeria loses significantly every day due to operational inefficiencies, which represent missed opportunities, jobs not created, and delayed economic growth.

The Managing Director of the NPA, Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho, reiterated the Authority’s commitment to supporting PEBEC’s mandates. He highlighted the NPA’s progress, including collaborating with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to deploy the Port Community System (PCS), which will serve as the digital backbone for the National Single Window.

The PCS is expected to eliminate manual bottlenecks and synchronize port operations, reducing cargo dwell time and improving vessel turnaround time. The initiative integrates both government regulators and private sector stakeholders to ensure transparency and accountability.