By Tony Nzekwe
Nigeria leading container terminal, the West Africa Container Terminal (WACT), has restated it’s Commitment to deepening investments in Nigeria, particularly in increasing container handling capacities at the Onne Port.
This information was disclosed by the Managing Director of WACT, Aamir Mirza, during the company 20th anniversary celebration at Onne, Rivers State.
Mirza said, ” The need for further Investment in cargo handling equipment is in response to the significant volume growth witnessed in the Eastern Nigerian market since the company started Operations 20 years ago.”
His words: ” We are celebrating our achievements of the past 20 years. In year 2000 when we started, we did about 35,000 containers moves but last year we did over 200, 000 moves, so cargo volume had grown over the years and recognising this growth, we are investing in this business.”
Adding, ” We are at that point where we will experience new changes. With more equipment coming in, the mode of operation will change, and we believe we are setting that up for the next 20 to 25 years. So that we can serve our customers better in terms of service delivery, customers satisfaction and improved capacity.”
Aamir Mirza asserted, ” Right now , we are going to invest $100 Million dollars and will Continue to invest over the years. For example, in 2019, we did invest about $14 Million dollars and in previous years, we have been doing that regularly.”
He continued, ” WACT has done a lot of work in marketing Onne Port to the global community even as “the service level that the customers are getting in Onne is far superior to what they are getting elsewhere in Nigeria.”
” For example, we don’t have vessel waiting time, we don’t have issues with delivery of containers to our customers but customers taking delivery of cargoes from other locations still have challenges with vessel waiting time and service delivery.”
The WACT Managing Director lauded the dedication and hard work of the company workforce which he said contributed in no small measure to the company’s growth and success.
In his remarks, the Country Manager, APM Terminals Nigeria, Klaus Laursen, has stated that WACT 20 years existence is impressive and successful, which he attributed to the growth in Nigeria’s economy.
His words: ” There will be no cargo coming in or going out if it wasn’t for the economy of Nigeria. We serve only the population of Nigeria. So the first part of it is that Nigeria’s economy is still growing every year.”
Laursen lauded the contribution of the staff and urged them not to rest on their laurels in making WACT the most preferred container terminal in Nigeria.
He opined, ” Starting from being a container Depot until today being a proper container terminal is quite impressive. Just seeing what you are bringing forward and where you have got to today is an amazing achievement. Please continue to grow and Continue.”
Adding, ” If you look at Onne 20 years back , we would not have compared it to Lagos but today, because of our capabilities in terms of operations and equipments available and being able to handle bigger container vessels that are calling at Nigerian Ports, we are increasingly becoming the preferred destination . With that, we can also put pressure on the West for them to do their job better. There is a huge market in the East , Central and North Nigeria that we can actually compete for with Lagos and increasingly we are building the capabilities in the Port.”
A cross section of the Staff who spoke commended WACT for the achievements recorded just as they pledged their Commitment to continue to contribute to the growth of the company to become the best container terminal in West Africa.
