The Chief Executive Officer of APM Terminals, Keith Svendsen, said the terminal has developed plans to undertake the necessary terminal upgrade investments in Apapa to give access to vessels with deep drafts requiring large ship-to-shore cranes.
Svendsen, in a statement on Thursday, disclosed that the terminal was seeking to carry out the upgrade under a long-term agreement with the government to support their ambition.
He said APMT had intensified talks with the current administration and port authority to make those plans concrete, adding that the company was pleased with the significant progress made towards implementation.
“We have developed plans to undertake the necessary terminal upgrade investments in Apapa to give access to vessels with deep drafts and requiring large ship-to-shore cranes. We seek to do this under a long-term agreement with the government to support our ambition to continuously improve import and export opportunities for the country, creating jobs and diversifying opportunities locally,” he noted.
He, however, stated that the terminal had been present for close to two decades, and believed that Lagos, as the main port, needed further investments to cater for increasing trade volumes.
“While greenfield terminals like Lekki and later on Badagry would support economic growth in the long run, the more urgent requirement is in our view to upgrade the existing port infrastructure to ensure road, rail, and barge networks can connect directly to mainline shipping,” Svendsen added.
He said the terminal was also concluding a $115m upgrade project at Onne to ensure it has sufficient capacity and capabilities to service the south-eastern Nigeria market and the growth expected in the coming years.
According to the APM Terminals boss, the Apapa port continues to offer unique access to Nigerian importers and exporters to international markets through not just the road but also rail and waterways, using barges.
He added that the terminal had earlier in the year proposed to invest more than $500m.
“Earlier this year, we publicly disclosed the proposal to invest more than $500m that we discussed with President Tinubu both in February and which we further elaborated in late April. It should go hand-in-hand with a long-term partnership,” Svendsen said.
The APMT boss stated that two container terminals belonging to the terminals in Lagos and Onne handle about half of the containers going in and out of Nigeria, “and our vessels transport close to a third”.
He stated that the terminals, having been operating in Nigeria since 2006, had invested more than $600m during the period.
According to Svendsen, the terminals employed about 2,500 people directly, with 99 per cent of them being Nigerians, and indirectly created employment for about 65,000.
“At APM Terminals, we believe strongly in the prospects for the Nigerian economy and the long-term opportunities that the current economic reforms and invitation for international investments will generate,” the APMT boss stated.
