A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S, owner of the world’s largest ship- ping container line, is seek- ing to win contracts to build and upgrade ports in Nigeria and Kenya as the Danish company expands its Afri- can operations.
Maersk is awaiting a final sign-off on a contract to help build a new port in Badagry, Lagos State, according to Lars Reno Jakobsen, the company’s senior vice presi- dent for Africa.
“That project, once it’s been finalised, could be more than $2 billion in terms of investment,” he said in an interview at the World Eco- nomic Forum in Cape Town on Friday.
“Hopefully, we can start some time this year. It will provide capacity, not only for containers, but also for oil, break-bulk and offshore.”
Maersk employs almost 10,000 people in more than 40 African nations and generates about 10 percent of its sales in and around the continent.
Besides its shipping business, the Copenhagen-based com- pany supplies oil- and gas-re- lated services. The company’s APM Terminals unit operates 10 West African ports.
“We are actively looking in East Africa for opportunities,” Jakobsen said.
“There is an ongoing tender process for the port of Mombasa, where APM Terminals has shown interest” in operating two new berths in the Kenyan city.
