The delegation from the Ghana Institute of Freight and Forwarders (GIFF) and the Association of Clearing and Customs Forwarding Agents (ACCFA) recently visited the SMG Dry Port Company in Banjul, as part of their study tour in the Gambia.
The purpose was to interact with the management of the SMG Dry Port Company and gets first hands information about its operation and related activities within the Maritime Industry and carved the way forward in overcoming challenges faced by clearing and forwarding agents in the Sub-region.
Among the top agenda during the visit include the issues of demurrages, terminal handling charges, and clearing of containers among other administrative illegal ports charges.
The above prompted the GIFF in collaboration with ACCFA to visit key eminent institutions such as GRA, GPA, Gambia Maritime Administration (GMA), Single window office, and SMG Dry Port Company, to discuss with them the numerous illegal ports charges levied in the discharge of cargoes and clearing of containers.
The two associations discussed frankly issues affecting their operations and among other illegal charges by the Foreign Shipping Agency that they claimed robbery of the economy.
The SMG Dry Port Company is privately owned, operating within the maritime industry, and one of its key functions is the loading and discharging of containers from cargo coming into the Gambia.
The SMG Dry Port Company was launched and established last year by Hadim Gai a Gambian businessman. Mr. Gai is a well-experienced and known business tycoon operating both in the Gambia and Senegal Maritime Industry.
However, SMG Dry Port Company is one of the leading companies in the maritime industry complimenting the efforts of the Gambia Ports Authority (GPA in the discharge of cargoes within a stipulated period.
According to Mr. Pape Oumar Badjie, Terminal Manager/Managing Director of SMG Dryport Company among their company objectives is to help decongest the ports of Banjul and speedy clearing of cargoes, ensuring that goods are clear and on stipulated period.
Mr. Badjie also stressed that since the operation of SMG Dryport Company, there are significant improvements in the clearing of containers, as the volume had drastically improved due to the space available at SMG Dryport Company.
The company was launched in May 2022 and started operation this year, 2023, and currently has over seventy-five workers.
