By Moses Uwagbale
SIFAX Group has inaugurated a bonded terminal at Ijora Causeway in Lagos to address the logistics nightmare of access to Apapa ports.
Speaking at the inauguration, the company’s Group Managing Director, Chief Adekunle Oyinloye, said that the good road network around Ijora and its easier access to every part of Lagos made the terminal ideal for faster and efficient cargo clearance.
He noted that another key advantage of the terminal was that it would be information technology driven, adding that the company had decidedly invested in technology to drive the business to the satisfaction of the clients.
According to him, the terminal located along the Ebute Metta Creek, holds a number of opportunities for shippers, agents and consignee’s as their consignment can be transferred through barges from any of the ports (Apapa and TinCan) to their facility without the challenge of traffic congestion.
“We are here today to commission the facility which is our modest response to a major concern in the maritime industry of today- access to Lagos ports.
“From our humble beginning in 1988, SIFAX Group, which started as a modest clearing and forwarding firm, has transformed to a conglomerate with investments in various sectors of the economy.
“While priding ourselves as an integrated logistics solutions company, we have expanded the frontiers of our business to other critical industries in order to offer more solutions to a wider target market.
“From maritime to aviation, haulage and logistics, hospitality, financial services, oil and gas and many more, SIFAX Group is working relentlessly to fulfill its vision of becoming Africa’s global conglomerate that crates significant value for all economies,” Oyinloye said.
Mr Paul Vd Linden, Managing Director, SIFAX Container Terminal, said that the 15,000 square meter space would boost Nigeria’s export market.
“The long queue that the country’s export face and which affects the state of the commodities due to traffic will not be experienced in this terminal,” he said.
He pointed out that the terminal had a rich blend of both human capital and right equipment and facilities that would make the movement of cargoes in and out of the terminal a pleasurable experience.
The Customs Area Controller, Apapa Command, Mohammed Abba-Kura, said that the inauguration was a good sign of private participation, adding that Nigeria Customs was ever ready to assist SIFAX in whatever good form.
He urged other terminals to make investment across the coastline so that Apapa residents would sleep well.
Ms Hadiza Bala-Usman, Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), said that the terminal was a contribution to national development and assured of the agency’s continue support for SIFAX to enhance growth.
Bala-Usman, represented by Mr Onari Brown, noted that the terminal would absorb the pressure at the main port, bring direct social economic benefit, reduce traffic and provide employment for the host community.
