- Terminal Manager of APM Terminals Apapa, Steen Knudsen
By Anthony Nwachukwu
In its quest to give the Nigerian economy sustainable benefits, APM Terminals Apapa has ploughed $438 million (about N180 billion) into areas covering modern equipment for cargo handling, facility upgrade and digitalised products for seamless services since the port concession of 2006, the company has disclosed.
This is beside the company’s sustained investment in the continuous development of its workforce as the terminal continues a major transformation to deliver greater benefits to the society, according to the Terminal Manager, Steen Knudsen.
Knudsen stated that since inception, APM Terminals Apapa has invested around $438 million purely into handling equipment in the terminal, adding: “We have acquired mobile harbour cranes, rubber tyred gantry cranes, reach stackers, forklifts, terminal trucks, empty handlers and invested into yard improvements.
“Equally important is the investment into our workforce, ensuring that we continuously develop our staff. This covers trainings, career progression and, of course, expanding the business and creating new jobs.
“At the moment, we are focusing on investing into our facilities: renovating our buildings, upgrading in-gate and out-gate facilities, terminal fencing and lighting. We have equipped the parking area access with a facial recognition system and expanded our terminal fleet with new shuttle buses and pick-up trucks.
“Some of our other investments are aimed at simplifying and enhancing trade. For a long time, shipping has been a very manual and paper-heavy process. We are using global best practices to introduce digitalised products, in order to ensure that importers and exporters enjoy a seamless service from the terminal.”
For the digital services, the terminal recently deployed the 4G LTE wireless network and launched its Operation Command Centre to enhance quality delivery in its operations, with Knudsen assuring that of their commitment to “deepening our investment in Apapa to enable us handle increasing volumes at the port.
“Our investments will create capacity to handle growth in the economy to support the Federal Government’s efforts on trade growth and improved service delivery across the logistic chain.”
