SEPTEMBER 1, 2013
Apapa port
A port terminal operator, APM Terminals Apapa Limited, has denied reports that it is subjecting Nigerians to inhuman treatment at the physical examination site.
A statement by the firm on Friday quoted the Managing Director, APM Terminals Apapa Limited, Mr. Andrew Dawes, as saying this in Lagos.
He stressed the present condition of the physical examination site at the terminal was temporary, adding that a new physical examination facility was being built and would be ready by the second quarter of next year.
Dawes said the physical examination site built earlier and handed over to the then Port Manager of Lagos Port Complex, Apapa, Mr. Joshua Asanga, in 2010, could not be used by the Nigeria Customs Service at the time due to process variance.
He said the present site was not originally designed for that purpose but had to be used temporarily to ensure that the process of examination at the terminal was not stalled.
Dawes said his company placed premium on human life and had never done anything that would compromise its core values.
He said the safety and security of APMT’s workers and its customers remained paramount at all times.
“The investment we are making at the terminal is not only on civil works and equipment, we are also investing to ensure the safety of everyone that comes here to transact their business,” Dawes stated.
He said APM Terminals would continue to improve on its service offerings to its customers, saying that the complaints were being addressed.
The APMT boss also stated that there was sufficient equipment at the terminal for cargo handling and that more cranes were billed to arrive in the first week of September.
The statement said, “In 2010, the ultra-modern building, which is now in a dilapidated state due to disuse, was constructed to provide decent and conducive office accommodation to officials of the Nigeria Customs Service.
“The building was to serve as the facility for the physical inspection of containers and for related administration of the Customs operations at the terminal.”
It stated that the then Managing Director of APM Terminals, Mr. Martin Dirks, handed over the facility to the then Port Manager of Lagos Port Complex, Apapa, Mr. Joshua Asanga, on May 4, 2010.
It stressed the construction of the ultra-modern building was a further demonstration of his company’s commitment to fulfilling its own part of the 25-year port concession agreement with the Federal Government.
The APMT boss said that the new building was to address various logistics and infrastructural challenges confronting Customs officers at their present location.
The building, according to the statement, has 14 container bays and 235 square metres net office area — all built to British Standard and equipped with modern electronics gadgets and information technology.
Three years after the handover, the facility now lays waste inside the terminal with the furniture and fittings either removed or in deteriorating condition.
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