The West Africa Container Terminal (WACT), Onne Port, Rivers State is preparing to take delivery of two new mobile harbour cranes from Liebherr, as part of a $10 million upgrade.
The upgrade will bring WACT, the biggest container terminal outside Lagos, at par with its peers in Apapa and Tin Can Island ports in terms of equipment and efficiency.
Speaking during the inauguration of four new specialised terminal trucks and an empty handler in Onne at the weekend, WACT Managing Director Mr. Aamir Mirza said the mobile harbour cranes are expected to arrive in the country next month.
According to him, the acquisition of four more specialised terminal trucks brings to 10 the number of such trucks acquired by WACT so far this year, with another four expected before the end of the year.
He said: “You will recall that four trucks arrived first in February, then we added two in April, and four have just arrived. This is in line with our plan of investing in container handling equipment to maintain our strong position in Eastern Nigerian market.
“So far, we have 10 terminal trucks and four are still coming on the way. We have 12 that we are already using. So, with this, we are going to have substantial number of trucks. The trucks are required to support the operations of the mobile harbour cranes because when compared to the current vessel cranes, the mobile harbour cranes operate at a faster rate.
“Already, we are bringing them in and when the two cranes arrive in July, we already have these trucks with us and as soon as those cranes are inaugurated, we would have all the required equipment with us for efficient operation.
“We have been investing in getting more equipment to our terminal to make sure that we continue to serve our customers better, deliver their cargo on time in a way that will bring more business to our terminal. We want to assure them that we will continue to fulfill the commitment that we have made in making sure that we continue to serve them better as we progress through the year.”
Expressing appreciation to the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) for their support, Mirza said apart from investing in equipment, WACT is also focusing on improving communication with customers on major developments.
“We have also added more computers to the clearing agent’s office so that they can download their invoices and complete their documentation before coming to the terminal. It is basically a mutual relationship that we are trying to maintain with all the stakeholders. We are poised to serve them better; listen to them and take steps to improve the level of service and provide them with necessary support so that our business and theirs continue to grow,” Mirza said. The Acting Port Manager of Onne Port, Dr. Agbo Julius, who witnessed the commissioning of the four new specialised terminal trucks and empty handler, lauded WACT for its commitment to operational efficiency and service delivery at the port.
“WACT has improved on its operation and I want to commend them for that. When we come around here and we see how big the place is with operations going on smoothly with very modern equipment, we keep on moving closer to our goal of being the leading port in Africa.
“The inauguration of this equipment is encouraging because it is not the first time WACT is doing this. When we have operational equipment, it means we will improve our efficiency and service delivery, which is the cornerstone of Onne Port.
“All of us are working together in ensuring that we make Nigerian ports become the leading ports in Africa,” Julius said.
Several other stakeholders, including representatives of the Customs Area Controller, Port Harcourt 2 Area Command, Onne, Assistant Comptroller Yahaya Idris; Nigerian Port Consultative Council (NPCC) Chairman, Godwin Ololuka; as well as freight forwarding and truckers associations, who also witnessed the truck inauguration, also lauded WACT for raising the bar in service delivery at the port.
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