Quote:By Godfrey Bivbere 

Nigeria has lost opportunity of exporting 1.4 million tons of coal from the middle belt area of the country to Ghana annually, the Nigerian Export Import Bank, NEXIM has said.

Speaking at the Sub-regional workshop and joint committee meeting organized by the Union of African Shippers Council in conjunction with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, UNCTAD, Technical Adviser to the Managing Director of the bank, Hope Yongo, said that the logistics of moving the consignment from Nigeria to Ghana is hindered.

Yongo explained that the Ghanaian government needed 2,000 tones every month to power its second coal plant which would have brought the annual coal demand from Nigeria to 1.4 million tones.

He said there is no shipping link along the sub-region, noting that cargo movement amongst the countries in the region had to first go to Europe before finding their way back resulting in very expensive transportation cost.

He also stressed that there is no rail link in the region and that the only means of transportation of goods presently is by road which is more expensive as a result of the condition of the roads and the hindrances along the route.

He further noted that to move 2,000 tons of coal by road every month will require 43,000 trucks, a situation which is unimaginable.

As a result of the hindrances, the Ghanaian government had to resort to shipping the needed cargo from Australia.