By Ignatius Ushie
Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has charged APM Terminals to allow China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC), the contractor handling the Ebuta Meta – Apapa seaport railway extension, access to ensure it is completion by January, 2021.
Speaking during an inspection of the terminal in Lagos, Ameachi said the January date for the commissioning of Apapa Extension 2 railway line alongside that of Lagos-Ibadan remains sacrosanct, adding that the appeal for cooperation from all stakeholders is well solicited.
According to him, “We have already told the President, that we are commissioning in January. Now, I am working towards that time. We must achieve that time”, he said. Responding to a question on the Apapa gridlock, the Minister said, “the moment we begin movement of cargo from Lagos to Ibadan, by rail, the Lagos gridlock will reduce drastically and that’s my objective in January”.
Earlier, the Country Manager of APM Terminal, Klaus Laursen, showed the Minister the monitoring station which gives real time information on what is happening in all sections of the terminal, saying ” the essence is to have it here to control and monitor cargoes coming in and going out of the terminal.”
According to him, they decided to introduce one in Nigeria as it is the trend in Shanghai and other global towns where similar operations take place.
While acknowledging the fact that the terminal is not where it is supposed to be, Laursen, said they were putting the right facilities in place to encourage productivity.
