President Bola Tinubu has secured a 600 million U.S. dollar Danish shipping and logistics company, A.P Moller-Maersk, investment for Nigeria’s seaport infrastructure.

This investment is to expand existing port infrastructure to accommodate more container shipping services in Nigerian ports.

Chairman of A.P Moller-Maersk, Mr Robert Uggla, disclosed this during a meeting with Tinubu on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum Special Meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Sunday.

Tinubu noted that this investment would complement the administration’s ongoing one billion dollars investment in seaport reconstruction across the eastern and western seaports of Nigeria.

The President added that it would further support the country’s port modernisation efforts and port process automation through his administration’s implementation of the national single window project.

The window is aimed at enhancing trade facilitation, easing import/export flow, reducing corruption at the ports, while improving the efficiency and transparency of port processes in Nigeria.

“We appreciate your business and the contribution you have made and continue to make to our country’s economy over time. We do not take our partners for granted.

”A bet on Nigeria is a winning bet. It is also a bet that rewards beyond what is obtainable elsewhere.

“More investment opportunities are available, and my government has worked on various reforms to encourage investments. We need to encourage more opportunities for revenue expansion and minimize trans-shipments from larger ships to smaller ships,” he said.

The President assured Maersk of his administration’s commitment to collaborating and creating an enabling environment for businesses to thrive in the country.

He cited Maersk’s previous partnership in the development of the Ogun State container terminal as a testament to fruitful partnerships with the reputable logistics company.

Highlighting Maersk’s longstanding engagement in Africa’s most populous nation and his belief in the future of Nigeria, Uggla said his company had made significant investments of over two billion dollars in Nigerian ports and other activities.

He emphasised the potential for Nigerian ports to accommodate larger container ships and stressed the need for expanding port infrastructure to meet this demand, while reducing the cost of logistics.

‘’We have seen a significant opportunity for Nigeria to cater for larger container ships. Historically, most of the West African coasts are already served by smaller ships. Currently, we see an opportunity to deploy larger ships to Nigeria.

“To achieve this, we need to expand the port infrastructure, especially in Lagos, where we need a bigger hub for logistics services. The growth potential is hard to quantify.

‘’We believe in Nigeria, and we will invest 600 million dollars in existing facilities and make the ports accommodating for bigger ships.

‘’In my humble view, given that Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, Nigeria should have the best and biggest port and we are very eager to invest.

“We will continue that dialogue with the relevant Nigerian authorities to explore further investment opportunities,’’ Uggla said.

The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) flagged off Thursday, its annual Capital procurement process for 2024 at the National Headquarters in Ebute Metta, Lagos.

The Maritime First learnt that the significance of this exercise was to ensure transparency in the selections of the most competent bidders among the 524 documents that bidder.

The Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, Engr. Fidet Okhitia was represented, by Dr. Monsurat Omotayo flagged off the exercise. 

In her remarks, she promised it would be a transparent exercise, even as she identified some of the challenges before they arrived at the present state of the exercise.

She however noted that placing two Adverts, on the nation’s national daily was not planned for initially.

According to the Director of Procurement, NRC, 524 companies bid across the three categories, as published in the National newspapers.

The Categories were: 

*Works, comprising renovations, growth, and repairs of locomotives, coaches and rolling storks.

*Services, covering business concerns bordering on insurance, and alternative revenue generation.

Goods, which touches on supplies of lubricants, diesel (AGO), spare parts, and track materials.

Amongst the audience were professional evaluators, and representatives of the Federal Ministry of Transport, Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Management Supplies. 

Others were Non-governmental organizations like the Civil liberty, Professional bodies, Outside observers, and the members of the Fourth Estate.

Participants were made to register their details at the entry point. While, the Health Safety and Environment (HSE) was also on ground to ensure adequate care, and to nip in the bud, any health challenges.

The Naira on Monday slightly depreciated at the official market, trading at N1,234.49 to the dollar.

Data from the official trading platform of the FMDQ Exchange, which oversees the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), revealed that the Naira lost N64.50.

This represents a 5.51 per cent loss when compared to the previous trading date on Friday, April 19, when it exchanged at N1,169.99 to a dollar.

However, the total daily turnover increased to 110.17 million dollars on Monday, up from 86.68 million dollars recorded on Friday.

Meanwhile, at the Investor’s and Exporter’s (I&E) window, the Naira traded between N1,295.00 and N1,051.00 against the dollar.

CBN Governor, Yemi Cardoso, on Saturday, April 20, 2024, said the apex bank was doing everything possible to achieve a stable exchange rate.

He said the apex bank was also working to ensure that the exchange rate found its adequate price discovery level.

Cardoso said that CBN’s foreign exchange reforms were paying off and had made the naira the best-performing currency globally.

He spoke at a press conference during the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Group.

He predicted ups and downs but assured the global economic community that the Naira would steadily gain against foreign currencies.