The AP Moeller Terminals has called attention to the rising volume of cargoes resulting from improvement in business transactions at the seaports and partly from the recent border closure.
A statement from the concessionaire indicated that the success of implementation of government policies such as the Ease of Doing Business initiative, the Agriculture Promotion Programme and the recent closure of the nation’s borders against smuggling had pushed a lot of containers to the seaports.
It said there was a need for prompt evacuation of imported containers to avoid congestion.
The statement read in part, “We have recently experienced a substantial increase in the volume of containers arriving through the seaports. This positive development can be attributed to various positive government policies such as improvement in the implementation of Ease of Doing Business policy, the Agriculture Promotion Policy and closure of land borders to curtail smuggling activities, among others.
“However, if these containers are not cleared by customers soon enough, this volume increase could lead to high yard density which could impact berthing of vessels resulting in vessel queues. We are anticipating further improvement in throughput ahead of Christmas and year end.
“We, therefore, urge all the relevant stakeholders and the wider port community to ensure timely delivery of containers in an effective manner without compromising the government’s policies and procedures.”
APMT promised to offer a discount for long-standing containers commensurate with dwell time and urged customers with containers in this category to take advantage of the offer and take delivery of their containers.
“We commend the Nigerian Ports Authority for operating the Lilypond Transit Truck Park and the Presidential Task Team on decongesting Apapa access roads for their effective implementation of the call-up system and traffic management system, respectively.
“As for the terminal, we assure the shipping lines and our customers that we are dedicating adequate resources despite the seasonal bad weather, working closely with the port authority, other relevant agencies and stakeholders for improved terminal performance to ensure prompt cargo delivery after release by the Nigeria Customs Service.”
