Filed in by Olando Testimony Zeongar – 0776819983/0880-361116/life2short4some@yahoo.com
Monrovia – Plans are being finalized for APM Terminals Liberia Limited to launch cross border cargo or transit cargo operations within neighboring Guinea’s southeastern region.
The company’s General Manager George G. Adjei made the disclosure Wednesday, at a press conference, disclosing that APM Terminals is targeting the Nzerekore area in the Republic of Guinea for its transit cargo operations.
Beyond what APM Terminals is handling at the Freeport of Monrovia, with a US$110.1 million investment so far, “we need to find a way of increasing the volume in Liberia, and for that matter, the volume that is going through the Freeport of Monrovia.” said Adjei.
Liberia’s economy stands to benefit hugely if all goes well with the APM Terminals’ cross border cargo trade, according to Adjei, who said, “There is so much that the economy will generate – but we believe that we have the capacity to handle more cargo.”
APM Terminals, which operates in 58 countries including Liberia, currently runs a 24-hour service at the Freeport of Monrovia. Having had some 54 percent of the global market share of the total number of containers handled in 2017, the company serves thousands of customers globally, and operates 74 port facilities worldwide.
With its 22,000 workforce of dedicated port professionals, APM Terminals handled 37.9 million containers in 2017, and carried out over 100 inland services operations.
Talks are ongoing between APM Terminals and various stakeholders including its partners, the National Port Authority (NPA) and the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA), to finalize plans for the commencement of the cross border cargo trade with Guinea, Adjei said.
“We are specifically targeting the potential cargo that we can get out of the southeastern region of Guinea, Adjei stated, adding that Guinea’s southeastern region specifically the Nzerekore area is a “good potential source of cargo that we believe we can attract, if we work together with the various stakeholders, that will make this possible.”
He explained that similar modus is being implemented at the Port of Rotterdam, the world’s largest seaport in Europe, located in the city of Rotterdam, Netherlands.
He’s of the belief that APM Terminals can mimic the Port of Rotterdam experience and apply same to its operations in Liberia.
Adjei explaining the economic relevance of its cross border cargo operations said the port that serves Guinea is located in the capital Conakry, the Port autonome de Conakry, which he said is 838 km from Nzerekore, while from the Freeport of Monrovia to Nzerekore, the distance is 335 km, stating that proximity being a key factor in such business venture, it is economically sensible for customers in that part of neighboring Guinea to use the Freeport of Monrovia instead.
APM Terminals, in this regard, is tirelessly working with LRA Commissioner General Thomas Doe-Nah to brush off constraints that are hindering the company’s cross border cargo operations as far as inner ports and outer ports transit operations with Guinea’s southeastern region are concerned.
–
