Steve Agbota
Nigeria’s leading container terminal, the West Africa Container Terminal (WACT), will begin the phase 2 upgrade within the next 18 months.
WACT, now the preferred container terminal outside the Lagos area, is fast gaining a reputation as the gateway to Eastern ports and alternative to Lagos ports.
The Commercial Manager of WACT, Noah Sheriff, said the phase 2 upgrade will consist the acquisition of three additional Mobile Harbour Cranes (MHCs) to bring the number at the terminal to five; acquisition of 20 Rubber Tyre Gantry Cranes (RTGs); 3 Reach Stackers; 13 terminal trucks and trailers and an empty container handler. The upgrade will include deployment of reefer racks with 600 plugs capacity, as well as expansion and paving of our current yard by 13 hectares, new workshop and new terminal gate complex.
“We anticipate additional volume growth as more and more shipping lines, importers and exporters are developing confidence in our ability to handle their cargo. This further investment is to ensure that we are well prepared to handle this additional business in the future,” he said.
Sheriff added that the new investment will raise productivity and improve reliability of cargo delivery whilst reducing port stays and vessel idle time. All the above will lead to greater customer satisfaction.
In 2019, WACT spent USD14 million to acquire equipment including two Mobile Harbour Cranes, 14 specialised terminal trucks and two reach stackers.
This first phase of investment last year brought high operational efficiency and set WACT apart from other ports in East Nigeria.
“Our vision is to make WACT the best performing container terminal in West Africa. We believe this vision can be realised through active collaboration with the Government to reduce the security challenges faced by vessels in our waters, and improved road connectivity,” states WACT Managing Director, Aamir Mirza.