The West Africa Container Terminal (WACT), at the Port of Onne, has been named Nigeria’s Best Container Handling and Port Development Company of 2015 at the African Governance and Corporate Leadership award 2015. The award was organized by Nigeria’s Institute for Government, Research, Leadership and Technology in Abuja, and is given in recognition of WACT’s establishment of new industry standards in the areas of productivity, investment and service delivery to its customers in Nigeria. WACT is owned and operated by APM Terminals, and is part of the APM Terminals Global Terminal Network.
The Onitsha Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture has also named WACT the winner of its 2015 Corporate Distinguished Service Award. The award reflects WACT’s outstanding performance in its operation, year-on-year container volume growth, IT efficiency, advanced technology and customer satisfaction.
“We are very proud of what we have been able to accomplish as a team and we are grateful for this national recognition of our achievements,” said WACT Managing Director, Martin Jacob. “WACT has succeeded in connecting East, North, West Central Nigeria and Rivers State to the world. This was made possible through outstanding service delivery, cordial business relationship with our customers, regular interaction with all our stakeholders, manpower development, acquisition of modern equipment, improved technology and e-commerce.”
WACT, which is the first green field container terminal built in Nigeria under public private partnership, started commercial operations in 2007 and has become the most efficient Nigerian gateway to markets outside the Lagos area. It has an annual throughput capacity of 314,000 TEUs, with 250 reefer plugs and a depth of 12 meters alongside.
By Pita Ochai