In a bid to decongest the port access roads, APM Terminals Apapa and Nigerian Railway Corporation, NRC, have restored the evacuation of containers by rail from the Lagos Port Complex Apapa.
APM Terminals originally restored the rail service in 2013 running three times per week to Kano and Kaduna.
Speaking in Lagos yesterday, the General Manager, External Affairs of APM Terminals Apapa, Daniel Odibe, said the terminal and the NRC have developed a new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), which would bridge the communication gap and ultimately lead to more efficient cargo evacuation by rail.
He said the new SOP was facilitated by the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC).
“We wish to thank the Nigerian Shippers Council for facilitating this Standard Operating Procedure directed at improving service delivery to shippers and consignees.
This is an important milestone for the port. It is something we have always asked for. We want to have a Standard Operating Procedure for receiving trains into the terminal and servicing them. It helps planning when you have adequate information ahead of time,” Odibe said.
He said with the closure of a section of the Apapa Bridge for repair works, the resumption of cargo evacuation by rail will help in reducing the backlog of cargoes at the port.
