Reps laud rapid transformation of Apapa Port

Idowu Samuel, Abuja - 03.02.2008

The House of Representatives has expressed delight in the growing transformation of the Apapa Sea Port in Lagos, stating that the initiative by the Federal Government for concessioning the port has started bearing fruits.

The House Committee on Privatisation and Commercialisation made this observation during its oversight visit to the Terminal C and D of the Apapa Port, praising the manager of the two terminals, ENL Consortium, for introducing reforms aimed at improving the operations of the terminals.

Vice Chairman of ENL Consortium, Princess Vicky Haastrup, who conducted the lawmakers round the Port terminals, listed the achievements of her company on the terminals, stating that so far, the company has been able to reduce the menace of Port rats around the terminals.

Haastrup said ENL was able to reduce the menace of Port rats by drafting many of them into the workforce in the company and with appreciable salaries and wages. Some of the labourers engaged by the company, according to her, have had the benefit of earning between N25,000 and N190,000 monthly.

She said cases of pilfering of discharged items and vandalisation of cargoes at the port was almost non existence since the rats have now been engaged in paid jobs.

She said that the productivity level at the port has greatly been enhanced such that the earnings of the Nigerian Port Authority had more than doubled in two months at the instance of improved revenue generation at the port.

Haastrup told the Representatives that ENL alone paid the sum of $10 million royalty into the coffers of NPA, even as she recounted that the company had brought about an improved security network around the port.

She said with a good security network in place at the port, there have been a quick turn around of vessels, disclosing also that ENL had already acquired some plants to the tune of N520 million since the past two years, while also planning to acquire new sets of equipment to the tune of N539 million.

She said the company had resurfaced the roads around the terminals for easy operation as well as installing a cold room of international standard for effective discharge of fish cargoes.

Haastrup also told the federal lawmakers in adding values to the Nigerian economy, ENPL has spent more than N2billion to enhance the smooth running of the terminals, and had thus been commended by the NPA for the initiatives it had so far brought to bear on the port operations.

The visit by the House of Representatives to the Port arose from a petition filed before it by Michelle Nigeria with complaint that the Bureau of Public Enterprises shortchanged it in the process of Port Concessioning transaction which took place in 2005.