By Olaitan Ibrahim
The President, Bola Tinubu, will officially inaugurate the upgraded West Africa Container Terminal in Onne, Rivers State, next week Wednesday, the terminal operator disclosed in a statement on Sunday.
According to the statement, the unprecedented upgrade project valued at $115m, approximately N178.2bn, commenced at WACT in 2021.
It added that the terminal operated by APM Terminals in Onne, Rivers State, is Nigeria’s largest and most efficient container terminal outside Lagos.
The Managing Director of WACT, Jeethu Jose, remarked that the completion of the upgrade marks a significant milestone in the history of Nigerian ports.
“We are pleased to announce the successful completion of the upgrade of our terminal at Onne Port. This will be a game-changer for Nigeria, and we are thoroughly excited about it.
“The fresh investment of $115m is a further testament to the trust and confidence that APMT has in the Nigerian economy and contributes to our purpose of improving lives for all while lifting global trade,” Jose stated.
WACT is Nigeria’s first greenfield container terminal to develop under a public-private partnership model.
Strategically situated within the oil and gas free zone in Onne, Rivers State, the terminal has become the premier gateway for accessing markets beyond the Lagos region and a vital conduit to Eastern Nigeria’s burgeoning economy.
On August 15, 2020, WACT made history when it received the largest container vessel ever to berth at any Nigerian port.
The vessel, Maersk Stadelhorn, measures 300 meters in length overall and 48.2 meters in beam, with a capacity to carry approximately 10,000 twenty-foot equivalent units of containers.