The Management of the APM Terminals Apapa, on Monday, announced a 50 per cent discount on 1,290 longstanding containers at the Apapa port in Lagos. The leading container terminal port operator said the move was aimed at decongesting the port.
“In support of the efforts of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to decongest the port to enable the discharge of new containers, we urgently request the importers of below listed 1290 containers that have been in the terminal for 365 days to 4000 days, to clear them.
“To assist importers, and in support of government policy, the Terminal will offer 50percent discount on the storage charges for any of the listed containers delivered until 15th of March 2020. The full tariff will be payable from 16th of March 2020,” APM Terminals said in a notice to port users on Monday.
Recently, APM Terminals Apapa had urged importers to ensure prompt delivery of their containers to avoid buildup at the port as a result of increasing volumes.
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“We have recently experienced a substantial increase in the volume of containers arriving through the seaports. This positive development can be attributed to various positive government policies such as improvement in the implementation of Ease of Doing Business policy, the Agriculture Promotion Policy and closure of land borders to curtail smuggling activities amongst others.
“However, if these containers are not cleared by customers soon enough, this volume increase could lead to high yard density which could impact berthing of vessels resulting in vessel queues. We are anticipating further improvement ahead of Christmas and year-end,” the leading terminal operator had said in a statement issued in November 2019.
“We, therefore, urge all the relevant stakeholders and the wider port community to ensure timely delivery of containers in an effective manner without compromising the government’s policies and procedures. The terminal is willing to offer a discount for longstanding containers commensurate with dwell time and therefore urge customers with containers in this category to take advantage of the offer and take delivery of their containers.
“We commend the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) for operating the Lilypond Transit Truck park and the Presidential Task Team on decongesting Apapa access roads for their effective implementation of the call-up system and traffic management system respectively.
“As for the terminal, we assure the shipping lines and our landside customers, that we are dedicating adequate resources despite the seasonal bad weather, working closely with the Port Authority, other relevant agencies and stakeholders for improved terminal performance to ensure prompt cargo delivery after release by the Nigeria Customs Service,” the company had added at the time.
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