- To begin transhipment of cargo
- Completes Truck Park
CEM REPORT, MARITIME | About $100 million have been invested in the Lekki Port and Lekki Freeport Terminal, to enable swift tracking of cargo clearance and movements in and around the port which is set to begin transhipment of cargoes in the coming weeks.
According to the Chief Commercial Officer of Lekki Freeport Terminal, Kehinde Olubi-Neye, the port has the technical capacity, draft and state-of-the-art equipment to recover transship cargoes bound for landlocked countries.
“The opportunity is to explore transhipment of cargoes to other regional countries in Africa. We are in the process of transhipment with the support of Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) and when the first transhipment vessel arrives in the coming weeks.”
He expressed confidence that recovering transhipment cargoes not just for the hinterland but also for landlocked countries and other regional countries will be back in the country.
“We are here to connect global maritime trade into Nigeria and that is why we have the deepest draft here. We do not have this draft anywhere else in Lagos and arguably, in some of the West African countries as well. We are not here to compete with other ports but to render services to the Nigerian people.”
Furthermore, Olubi-Neye said that the Lekki Port operates an automated system that is linked to the automated gate with the vehicle booking system where truck drivers are required to book appointments in advance.
He further hinted that the port has completed a truck park very close to the port that can accommodate 150 trucks.
“This also supports the initiative of the Lagos State Government with regard to the comprehensive call-up system for the Lagos Free Zone, Lekki Port, Dangote Free Zone, Dangote Refinery and the Pinnacle Oil and Gas.
“We are in active discussions with the Lagos State Ministry of Transport and other stakeholders on the deployment of the call-up system for the Lekki area and we have confidence that the coming onboard of the call-up system for trucks will address any concerns that prospective port users would have over access to the port,” he said.
Beyond the road, he said that Lekki Port is also exploring the possibility of moving cargo by barges and has been able to execute more than five barge moves of over 900 twenty-foot equivalent units of containers (TEUs) from Lekki Port to the Ikorodu area of Lagos.
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Yann Magarian, the chief executive officer of Lekki Freeport Terminal, urged Nigerians to embrace and promote the port, claiming that it will transform the nation’s marine economy.
He said that the port is totally automated to reduce human touch and well-equipped since some of the terminal equipment, in particular the ship-to-shore crane, is often seen in large ports in Dubai and Singapore.
In terms of creating billions of dollars in cash and tens of thousands of employment for Nigerians, he said, the Lekki Port can do a lot for the country.
