GTP Chairman Says Transportation Network Can Help Improve Life Quality Through PPP
The Chairman and Chief Consultant, Global Transport Policy (GTP), a Nigeria based company, Dr. Oluwasegun Musa says “Public-Private Partnership remains key policy to create a transportation network that supports our nation’s aspirations and improves the quality of life for our citizens.”
Delivering his welcome address at the Global Transport Policy Annual Roundtable 2025, held at Marriot Hotel, Lagos under the theme: ‘Sustainable Transport System: Global Best Practices and Lessons for Nigeria’, Musa said “the ways to improve economic growth and development are always staring us in the face. But the Federal Government has to be deliberate in invoking a sustainable political will to holistically tackle the myriads of challenges bedeviling our transportation sector. We can spend less on the health sector and improve life expectancy if we have sustainable integrated transport systems in place. How? The quality of air we breathe will improve by, reducing emissions and public health will be enhanced.”
He said “it is a reality that no nation or people can survive in any transformational and development venture without an efficient transportation system whose infrastructure makes the entire world a universal village. It cannot even attain any credible success in educational, industrial, agricultural, healthcare and rural development systems because what makes the world go round remains the possibility of human reachability and interaction. The transport sector is therefore crucial to our economy as it continues to contribute not less than 4.7% to GDP and supporting millions of jobs.
However, our infrastructure is facing significant challenges, including congestion, pollution, and safety concerns and to address these issues, adoption of global best practices in sustainable transport infrastructure development is the way forward. Nigeria needs to invest around $3 billion annually in transportation infrastructure to meet growing demands.
Investing in sustainable transport infrastructure can create more jobs that are sustainable, stimulate economic growth, and improve quality of life. When we attract the much needed investments, this can also make the sector more efficient to reduce costs, improve productivity, and enhance the competitiveness of our economy.”
Musa further stated that “ inefficiency in transportation industry costs Nigeria around 2% of GDP annually. A study by the Nigerian Ports Authority found that optimizing port operations can reduce cargo dwell time by 50%. The World Bank also says integrated transport systems can reduce transportation costs up to 30%.
Integrated and multimodal transport systems are essential for reducing transportation costs, improving efficiency, and enhancing the overall competitiveness of our economy. By connecting different modes of transportation, such as roads, rails, and waterways, we can create a seamless and efficient transportation network.”
In his own presentation titled ‘Building Sustainable Transport and Logistics Policy,’ Mr. Jonathan Aremu, a Professor of International Economic Relation at Covenant University and Consultant on ECOWAS Common Investment Market said “common transport infrastructure could complement the effect of removal or reduced tariff and non-tariff barriers, harmonized standards and rules such as product safety rules and improved customs procedures.
Such transport infrastructure does not normally end at national borders for their users (producers and traders, and eventually final consumers), but networked to neighboring Member States.”
He added that “the higher the transport costs, the more will payments for imported intermediate goods, and less likely such an economy would be able to compete in export markets. Thus, countries with higher transport costs would also be less likely to attract foreign investment in export activities, higher costs on imports and lower long-run rate of economic growth.”
According to him, transportation represents one of the most essential activities facilitating trade at all levels. It is an indispensable component of any national, regional, continental or global economy and plays a major role in supporting spatial relations and trade between locations; by creating links between regions and economic activities, between people and the rest of the world, generating value. Transportation is a key factor for competitiveness of any country or a region, since it provides access to markets, labor, and resources.
It is ineffectual to have zero tariffs when there is a lack of quality roads, air, railway and maritime transportation services that are cost-effective, reliable, sustainability and provide easy access between African countries.
Benefits of multimodal transport to service providers include boosting their profession as international transport operators (especially for freight forwarders becoming MTOs), increasing their local market shares and opening new markets overseas, increasing their financial liquidity through the collection of prepaid freight on containerized door-to-door transport contracts, providing them with key financial leverage and with the possibility of sub-contracting shipping, railway and truck space at competitive rates while controlling sub-contractors’ payment schedules.
