APM Terminals confirms plans to invest $500 million in port improvement

APM Terminals, Nigeria’s largest logistics terminal, says it has concluded plans to invest more than $500 million in upgrading the country’s port facilities.

It said this is out of the $600 million it has pumped into purchasing equipment, including trucks, container cranes, as well as advanced operational controls, digital interfaces and extensive employee training since 2006.

Keith Svendsen, CEO of APM Terminals, in a statement titled “Our Vision for Nigeria’s Ports and Growth” revealed that APMT is also nearing completion of a $115 million upgrade project in Onne Rivers State.

Svendsen said the new investment is aimed at ensuring that the terminal has sufficient capacity and capabilities to serve the southeastern Nigerian market and the expected growth in the coming years, while the Apapa port continues to offer unique access to importers and Nigerian exporters to international markets through not only road, but also rail and waterways, using barges.

He said Nigeria is a key market in Africa and APMT is proud of the central role it plays in enabling containerized trade between the country and the rest of the world.

According to him, AP. Moller-Maersk has been present in Nigeria for over 35 years and its vessels have been serving the country essentially since Independence.

“Our two container terminals in Lagos and Onne handle approximately half of the containers entering and leaving Nigeria, and our vessels carry about a third.

“APM Terminals has been operating in Nigeria since 2006 and has invested more than $600 million during this period in equipment, including container trucks and cranes, as well as advanced operational controls, digital interfaces and extensive employee training to provide customers a totally modern and safe experience. We employ about 2,500 people directly (99% Nigerians) and indirectly create employment for about 65,000, according to a recent socio-economic study.

“At APM Terminals we firmly believe in the future prospects of the Nigerian economy and the long-term opportunities that current economic reforms and the invitation to international investment will generate.

“At Onne, we are concluding a $115 million upgrade project to ensure the terminal has sufficient capacity to serve the South East/South East Nigeria market and expected growth in the coming years, while Apapa Port continues to offer unique access to Nigerian importers. and exporters to international markets not only by road, but also by rail and waterways, using barges

“Having been present there for almost two decades, we believe that Lagos, as a major port, needs more investments to serve the growing trade volumes and be able to attract large container ships. While new terminals such as Lekki and later Badagry will support long-term economic growth, in our view the most urgent requirement is to upgrade existing port infrastructure to ensure road, rail and barge networks can connect directly to the line main maritime transport.

“We have developed plans to carry out the necessary investments in the improvement of the terminal in Apapa to provide access to vessels with deep draft and that require large ship-to-shore cranes. We seek to do this under a long-term agreement with the government to support our ambition to continually improve import and especially export opportunities for the country, creating jobs and diversifying opportunities locally.

“As we have not yet reached the goal, we have intensified conversations with the administration and the port authority to finalize these plans and I am satisfied with the important progress made towards their implementation. That is why earlier this year I spoke publicly about the proposal to invest more than half a billion dollars, which we discussed with President Tinubu in February and which we elaborated in more detail at the end of April. It should go hand in hand with a long-term partnership.
“For us at APM Terminals, it is important to not only operate highly efficient terminals but also play a role in contributing to the development of local communities and provide growth opportunities and new prospects for Nigerians,” he added.