APM Terminals Apapa has expressed support for the Nigerian Federal Government’s plan to connect the Apapa Port to the Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge rail line.
Klaus Laursen, the Country Manager of APM Terminals Nigeria, commented on the intention on 20 June, during a visit to the terminal by the Minister of State for Transportation, Senator Gbemisola Saraki.
Laursen advocated multimodal transportation system to evacuate cargo from the port to avoid port congestion: “APM Terminals Apapa first restored the rail in the port in 2013 leading to the movement of containers from Apapa port to Kano and Kaduna three times a week,” he explained.
“Connecting the port to the new Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge rail line will offer cost advantage to consignees and reduce pressure on the road network.”
In addition to supporting the use of rail to evacuate cargo, APM Terminals Apapa has encouraged the use of barges to move boxes from the terminal.
The Minister of State for Transportation, Senator Gbemisola Saraki, said: “Arrangements have been made to remove the Customs building housing a radiation scanner, which has been obstructing the extension of the rail track to the port quay.
“By the end of this month, we want to ensure that the removal of this Customs facility, which is on the rail track, is resolved. The goal is to have this track operational by the end of this month,” the Minister said.
APM Terminals Apapa is the largest container terminal in Nigeria.
APM Terminals Apapa has invested $438 million in upgrading its facility with modern cargo equipment.
This major investment marks the largest of any port operator in Nigeria, APM Terminals wrote.
Earlier this year APM Terminals Apapa commissioned a new digitalised administrative building at the Lagos Port Complex.
