Steve Agbota
SIFAX Group , a conglomerate in the maritime, aviation, oil and gas as well as hospitality business, has disclosed that it has invested about €18 million on equipment known as harbor crane to facilitate smooth operations around maritime business domain.
To this end, the company also revealed that poor access roads had really affected business and operations in the ports, saying the roads need to be restored to back to what it used to be.
Speaking during a mid-year briefing with journalists in Lagos yesterday, its Group Managing Director , Mr. Adekunle Abdulrazak Oyinloye, said that the group invested about €18 million on harbor crane that will soon arrive the country to serve the people better. Oyinloye said that as a public interest group, the company owes it a duty to put across the impact of the company to the society.
He added: “We set the pace at SIFAX for about 31 years now and we are very happy about it and our financing is beginning to increase much more than it was before. And we began this year looking into the future of the maritime industry with a plan to ensure that we position ourselves for what it’s likely to happen in the industry.
“And we are very happy that by looking into the future has given birth to what we call five years strategic plan and it is in the planning and executing those plans, which is why we brought new people on board to drive the new business that we see. And that is the reason for positioning ourselves to having increase number of bonded terminals”.
According to him, the group is also investing in a financial company resides on the island, adding that the group is also looking at investing in the hospitality business and will be given birth to a new five star hotel at ikeja, which should be ready by the first quarter of 2020.
Speaking on some of the challenges faced by the company in carrying out their day-to-day activities within the port area, Oyinloye said “Our major challenge still remains access road to the port, and we wish the road can be hastened up. We will also wish that government can think beyond the road to link the Tin Can island port by rail.