New Telegraph

Operator to invest N45bn at Onne Port

West Africa Container Terminal (WACT) has restated its commitment to deepening investment in container handling capacity at the Onne Port with N45 billion ($100 million). Its Managing Director, Aamir Mirza, dropped the hint during the company’s 20th anniversary celebration at Onne, Rivers State. Mirza explained that the decision to further investment in cargo handling equipment was in response to the significant volume growth witnessed in eastern Nigerian market since the company started operations 20 years ago.

He said: “We are celebrating our achievements of the past 20 years. In year 2000 when we started, we did about 35,000 container moves but last year, we did over 200,000 container moves. So cargo volume has grown over the years and recognising this growth, we are investing in this business.

“We are at that point where we will experience new changes. With more equipment coming in, the mode of operation will change, and we believe we are setting that up for the next 20 to 25 years so that we can serve our customers better in terms of service delivery, customer satisfaction and improved capacity. “Right now, we are going to invest $100 million and will continue to invest over the years. For example, in 2019, we did about $14 million and in previous years, we have been doing that regularly.”

He said WACT had done a lot of work in marketing Onne Port to the global community even as “the service level that the customers are getting in Onne is far superior to what they are getting elsewhere in Nigeria. “For example, we don’t have vessel waiting time, we don’t have issues with delivery of containers to our customers but customers taking delivery of cargoes from other locations still have challenges with vessel waiting time and service delivery,” Mirza said.

The managing director commended the dedication and hard work of the company’s workforce, which he said contributed in no small measure to the company’s growth and success. Also, the Country Manager of APM Terminals Nigeria, Klaus Laursen, said the success recorded by WACT in its 20 years of existence was impressive, attributing it to the growth in Nigeria’s economy. Laursen said: “There will be no cargo coming in or going out if it wasn’t for the economy of Nigeria. We serve only the population of Nigeria. So the first part of it is that Nigeria’s economy is still growing every year.”

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