APMT, BMS sign Apapa lease through 2031

December 17, 2025

APM Terminals (APMT) and Barging Marine Solutions Ltd (BMS) have signed an exclusive lease agreement through September 2031 to expand services in and around Apapa.

The agreement focuses on increasing capacity and improving landside and barge connectivity for customers and shipping lines.

The collaboration will support the development of two waterfront and inland container terminals, along with barge services intended to provide an alternative to road transport, easing pressure on trucking and reducing congestion and logistics costs.

Under the agreement, BMS — part of GMT Nigeria Ltd — will operate the services for APMT, with both companies jointly developing customer-facing solutions.

Attendees at the signing included Igor van den Essen, Regional Managing Director, Africa & Europe, and Keith Svendsen, CEO, from APM Terminals; Karim Said, CEO of BMS Ltd and GMT Nigeria Ltd; Philippe Soulier, Founder of GMT Nigeria Ltd; and Frederik Klinke, Nigeria Country Managing Director for APM Terminals.

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Keith Svendsen, CEO of APMT, said: “The Nigerian market has shown solid growth throughout 2025 and APMT strongly believes in the development of the market in the years ahead.

“Therefore, it is important that we take the necessary steps to develop and realise the potential of the terminal, while also looking at the future potential to invest and modernise further in Lagos. Barging Marine Solutions have been running a resilient business, and we look forward to developing the synergies we see by entering this collaboration.”

Frederik Klinke, Managing Director, APMT Nigeria, added: “We believe that the improved barge services as well as Barging Marine Solutions’ position as market leader within inland container depots has the ability to improve both reliability and speed for our customers as well as optimising our coordination across the supply chain, which will give a more seamless customer experience.”

In September, APMT West African Container Terminal (WACT) and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly develop a roadmap for the electrification of container transport in Nigeria.