APM Terminals has expressed its readiness to invest $500 million in Apapa Port to make it one of the biggest in Africa.
This was disclosed by Keith Svendsen, global CEO of APM Terminals, when he visited Adegboyega Oyetola, minister of Marine and Blue Economy, on Thursday night.
The minister however assured them of the government’s commitment to modernise ports in the country to reverse the current trend that makes other ports in Africa more attractive than the ones of Nigeria.
At the meeting with Oyetola, Svendsen, accompanied by Fredrick Klinke, CEO of APM Terminals, Nigeria, and Koye Edu, a member of the board of the company, the group said that in the last year, the Onne ports has been doing better than the Durban ports, adding that at the moment, the turnaround time in Onne had been reduced by 65 percent.
Responding, Oyetola, flanked by Olorunola Olufemi, the ministry’s permanent secretary, and Bola Oyebamiji, managing director of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) assured the group of the support of his ministry.
“We have resolved to modernise the ports; we are only looking at funding strategies. We have resolved to increase the depth level of the Apapa and Tin-Can ports from the current 13.5 to 16.5 percent to allow bigger vessels to berth so that we can reverse the current trend that is making other ports more attractive than ours.
“We are excited about this potential investment. We will be glad to have the specifics soon so we can know the areas you want to invest in, so we can make progress. I can assure you; you have a partner in us,” the minister said.
The APM Terminal group had earlier held a meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, which was attended by Oyetola, Saidu Alkali, his counterparts in the Transportation Ministry, and Doris Uzoka-Anite, minister of Industry, Trade and Investment.
During the meeting, the minister highlighted some of the modernisation plans of the government for the ports.
