APM Terminals invests N80 billion on port expansion in 9 years

The Country Manager, APM Terminals Nigeria, Mr David Skov, has said the company had invested not less than $350 million (N80.5 billion) in yard expansion since port concession commenced in 2006.

Skov said this in a paper entitled, “Building Economic Capacity through Maritime Infrastructure Development – The APM Terminals Perspective”, presented at the Nigerian Maritime Expo in Lagos.

He said the management had also increased the berth depth from 10.5 metres to 13.5 metres; purchased container handling equipment and linked the rail tracks with the national rail network.

“APM Terminals has also established a world-class training centre and crane simulation facility for our employees in Nigeria and is also training crane operators from across the APM Terminals Global Network.

“Our investment in information technology has seen significant improvement in invoicing and tracking of accounts payable, improving cash flow and financial performance.

“With these investments in infrastructure and human capital, we are pleased to say that APM Terminals Apapa is one of the most modern and efficient terminals in Africa and a key transportation hub.

“The investments made at APM Terminals Apapa in preparedness to receive larger vessels have made it a more competitive port of call and is increasing employment opportunities,” he said.

Skov said that at present, the largest ships calling at the port had a 4, 500 TEUs capacity (20 ft. container equivalent), while the Lome hub could host vessels with capacities that were as high as 8,000 TEUs.

“The port infrastructure plays an important role in the size of the vessels that call at various ports.

“Over the past 20 years, container vessels have grown from 6,000 TEUs to 19,000 TEUs capacity and are still growing.

“Not too long ago, vessels with 1,700 TEUs capacity were common in the nation’s ports.