ENL Consortium, operator of Terminals C and D, Lagos Port Complex, Apapa has entered into strategic partnership with a Chinese logistics giant, Sinoma Cargo International to evacuate cargo from the port, using barges.
The partnership which incorporates Josephdam Port Services and Lianyungang Port of China, is part of efforts to find lasting solution to the perennial Apapa gridlock,
Lianyungang port is among the 10 largest ports in China and the 30th largest in the world. The cargo throughput of Lianyungang port is 210 million ton per year while its container throughput is five million TEU per year.
The Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of ENL Consortium, Princess Vicky Hasstrup, said at the partneship signing cersmony that the existing poor transport infrastructure in Nigeria is affecting the economic performance and competitiveness of the port.
She said the partnership became imperative given the persistent gridlock on the port access roads in Apapa, which has made cargo evacuation from the ports difficult.
Princess Hasstrup said the initiative, which would be implemented in conjunction with Lianyungang Port of China, will facilitate the evacuation of cargo from the terminals through barges and also help promote mutual cooperation and exchange between Liayungang and the Lagos port.
She said: “We have been to Lianyungang Port at the invitation of Sinoma and we have signed a friendship agreement. They also expressed their willingness to come to the Nigerian ports to see what ENL and other ports look like.
“This conference was organised to brainstorm on how to have a better operational logistics which is Sinoma’s core duty. We know what it is getting in and out of Apapa and discharging of cargo because of the present traffic situation in the Apapa and its environs.
“So this afforded us the opportunity to brainstorm on what else can be done under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement other than road since their core business is logistics.
She said Sinoma would want to bring barges that can evacuate cargo at the seaside in large volume, saying the barges are the types we have not seen in Nigeria that can take several hundreds of tons of cargo at once.
The ENL Consortium CEO stressed the importance of deploying intermodal means of transportation at the port, pointing out that continuous reliance on the road was no longer feasible and should be discouraged.
“There has to be an investment in other modes of transportation other than roads because already the roads are undergoing a lot of pressure, as the roads were not built to withstand the kind of pressure that they are subjected to,” she said.
While expressing appreciation to the leadership of the firm and officials of the Lianyungang Port for the confidence reposed in ENL and Josephdam; Princess Hasstrup assured that terminal operators in the country would continue to provide efficient port services that conform to global standards.
She added that efforts to develop the port industry will achieve greater effects if strategic alliances and partnership are grown, not just between private and public entities alone, but between business entities.
The General Manager, Sinoma Cargo, Li Zhanzhu who spoke through an interpreter, said the firm has established good cooperative relationship with ENL Consortium and Josephdam Port Services, which both handle several consignments shipped into Nigeria from China.
He said from January 2018 till date, the firm has operated 12 batches of Lianyungang- Lagos logistics line, organised and transported more than 410,000 dead weight of general cargo and transported more 2,000 TEU of containers.
The products, according to him, cover steel and templates, engineering equipment and tools.