APM Terminals will develop and operate a cargo rail terminal along the rail corridor in the recent concession agreement with a consortium led by General Electric (GE).
This forms parts of vital port decongestion efforts, Augustine Fischer, APM Terminals, head, Government Relations and Communication, told BusinessDay while responding to questions on the APM terminals’ investment in the consortium.
APM Terminals is part of the GE consortium with the responsibility to optimise the existing narrow gauge lines of the Nigerian Railways Corporation (NRC), which will provide an alternative to road transport for cargo evacuation
“This will complement APM Terminals investments in rail sidings to facilitate cargo transportation from the ocean terminal by rail,” said Fischer.
“APM Terminals will also deploy cargo handling equipment at key locations on the rail network to support cargo distribution across the country. All this effort and investment will lead to significant increase in capacity of freight haulage by rail. Meanwhile, the agreement signed last week is the Interim Phase Agreement which is expected to last for 15 months after which the substantive concession continues,” said Fischer.
According to him, the consortium led by GE comprises of SinoHydro, a leading infrastructure construction services corporation; Transnet, a leader in transportation and logistics infrastructure management and APM Terminals, a global port, terminal and intermodal inland services provider.
The move to concession the near-dead existing narrow gauge lines of the Nigerian Railways, will reduce the cost of transporting cargo and finished products as well as the cost of production for industries that rely on import for their raw materials, importers and manufacturers, say.
They further say that if actualised, the move will become vital in the decongestion of Apapa port, facilitate cargo movement and distribution in and out of the ports and ease doing business at the ports.
Frank Jacobs, president of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), who said that manufacturers always experience hardship moving their finished products from the factories to the seaports, and imported raw materials from the ports to factories, affirmed that the any move by government or private investors to improve the transportation system in Nigeria is a welcome development.
“Concession of the rail line to private investors will have tremendous economic benefits to not only manufacturers but the entire economy at large. It will help to cut down cost. Effective management of the rail will have cost implications because sometimes it takes our members four weeks to transport export products to Apapa. But if this time is reduced, transport and production cost will be reduced as well,” Jacobs explained.
Jonathan Nicole, president of Shippers Association of Lagos State, stated in a telephone interview that with GE and SinoHydro being part of the consortium, Nigeria will move three steps up on the ladder of reviving its rail transport, adding that the successful take-off of the concession will transform movement of cargo in and out of the ports.
“Modernisation is the birthright of Nigerian seaports and whatever brings development and modern technology is welcome by shippers because moving cargo with ease has been our dream judging from all that shippers have been suffering since the inception of Apapa gridlock,” Nicole said.
Nicole, who noted that efficient movement of cargo by railway from the port to hinterlands and hinterland to the port, will help the Federal Government to actualise the objectives of the Inland Container Depots (ICDs), also advised the government to ensure that part of the concession agreement should include extending the rail route by building new rail track, up to the Tin-Can Island port.
While calling for the need to cultivate sustainable maintenance culture, Nicole advised that APMT needs to expand their terminal to accommodate more cargo.
“The economic benefits of having an effective rail system will be huge for importers because it will not only reduce the cost of transporting goods but also reduce the volume of damages on transit cargoes that upturned on the way to the importers’ warehouses due to bad roads,” said Tony Anakebe, managing director of Gold-Link Investment Limited, a clearing and forwarding company.
Anakebe, who said that the move will also help in eliminating the congestion problem in Apapa, pointed to the fact that trucks will be permanently moved out of Apapa roads while gridlock becomes a thing of the past, as many trucks will now relocate to ICDs built by APM terminals, to take delivery of their consignments.
He however advised the government to ensure that the concession involves expanding the rail track to the Middle belt states where Agriculture is their mainstay as well as the Eastern part that receive about 50 percent of the imported items.
AMAKA ANAGOR-EWUZIE
