Customs Signs Modernization Project Concession Agreement to Facilitate Trade

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) on Monday signed the e-Customs concession agreement with Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) and China’s Huawei Technologies Limited.

The Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (rtd.) said the implementation of the project will generate a revenue of $176 billion over the next 20 years.

The Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (rtd.) disclosed this in Abuja during the signing of the e-Customs concession agreement between the NCS, Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) and China’s Huawei Technologies Limited.

Ali who disclosed this in Abuja said, the e-Customs concession project would ease the cost of doing business, boost revenue, enhance productivity and put a stop to every arbitrariness in the service.

He said, “The $3.2 billion e-Customs project to be financed by the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) and managed by Huawei Technologies Limited under a 20-year concession window, when fully implemented, will quadruple Customs’ current N210 billion average monthly revenue collection.

While appreciating Huawei Technologies Limited for their partnership, he noted that the NCS is becoming fully digitised.

He said “I thank the AFC for financing this project on behalf of the entire Nigerians. The success of this project will be on the global map. We are going to hit the ground running.

The journey has been long and torturous, but we’ve eventually signed the dotted lines. I want to appreciate the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) for the commitment to see the project to fruition.” he added.

The Acting Director-General of ICRC, Michael Ohiani, described the project as revolutionary, adding that it would bring digital smart processes and procedures to customs operations.

“This is a migration from analogue to digital. We urge the concessionaire to stick to the rules of engagement as we will be monitoring the project every step of the way,” he said.

In his remarks, Kelvin Yang, who represented Huawei Technologies Limited, said the company would make sure that the aim of the concession agreement was achieved, promising to make it a world standard project.