The Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, has launched a new operation command centre built by terminal operator, APM Terminals Apapa, to boost efficiency and service delivery.
While performing the inauguration of the terminal, Amaechi said that the completion of ongoing rail line projects would ease the movement of containers out of Apapa Port, thereby reducing massive pressure on the road infrastructure.
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According to a report from News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), this disclosure was contained in a statement issued by the Nigeria Country Manager of APM Terminals, Mr Klaus Laursen, in Lagos on Monday, December 21, 2020.
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What the APM Terminals Country Manager is saying
Laursen pointed out that the new operation command centre will improve operational efficiency, provide a better working environment, strengthen the exchange of information and coordination in the movement of containers out of the port, as well as other benefits. The APM boss said
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- “The centre is the brain of the business. It is about day-to-day execution where information is exchanged. This is where we decide which box to put where at which time and the equipment to pick so that everything works together.
- “It will help locate containers whether to go on a truck or barge at the right time. It will also help to know where a container is and allocate a piece of equipment to lift the container. That is what the centre will help do.
- “With the type of terminal of this size and with this equipment, we should be able to put around 40 to 45 moves per hour across the quay. It will improve productivity. We are targeting about 700 deliveries per day and we will like to double that so we need stronger delivery capabilities, so the importers and the exporters in Nigeria can get faster access to their cargo and possibly at a cheaper rate.”
In addition, Laursen expressed the company’s support for the Federal Government’s effort to develop a rail transportation system for the movement of goods out of the port in order to reduce road traffic.
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What you should know
- The concessioning of the major ports in the country to private terminal operators by the Obasanjo administration in 2006 was done to improve efficiency and productivity in the Nigerian Ports Sector.
- There have been some massive improvements in ports operations as evidenced in the huge investments by the terminal operators and high-level efficiency in the ports.
- However, with most of the country’s importation coming through the Lagos ports with the attendant traffic and pressure on the road infrastructure, the commissioning of the rail line projects in and out of the ports will massively relieve this pressure and further improve on efficiency.
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