Steve Agbota
The West Africa Container Terminal (WACT), Onne Port, Rivers State, said it is preparing to take delivery of two new mobile harbor cranes from Liebherr, as part of an unprecedented $10 million upgrade.
The upgrade will bring WACT, which is not just the biggest but also the most efficient container terminal outside Lagos, at par with its peers in Apapa and Tin Can Island Ports, Lagos in terms of equipment and operational efficiency.
The Managing Director of WACT, Mr. Aamir Mirza, while speaking during the commissioning of four new specialised terminal trucks and an empty handler in Onne recently, said the mobile harbor cranes are expected to arrive Nigeria in July this year.
According to him, the acquisition of four additional specialised terminal trucks brings to 10 number of such trucks acquired by WACT so far this year, with four more expected before the end of the year.
He said, “You will recall that four trucks arrived first in February, then we added two in April, and four have just arrived. This is in line with our plan of investing in container handling equipment to maintain our strong position in East Nigerian market.
“So far we have 10 terminal trucks and four are still coming on the way. We have 12 that we are already using in the past. So with this, we are going to have substantial number of trucks. The trucks are required to support the operations of the mobile harbor cranes because when compared to the current vessel cranes, the mobile harbor cranes operate at a faster rate.
He added: “So already we are bringing them in and when the two cranes arrive in July, we will already have these trucks with us and as soon as those cranes are commissioned, we would have all the required equipment with us for efficient operation.