By Joyce Ekeh
APM Terminals Apapa is set to begin 24-hour barge operations in the fourth quarter of 2026 while targeting the evacuation of 60 per cent of its export containers by rail, in a fresh push to remove major bottlenecks slowing Nigeria’s non-oil exports.
The terminal, Nigeria’s largest container facility, disclosed the plans at its third Exporters Forum, where exporters, shipping lines, logistics operators, regulators, academics and other industry stakeholders examined persistent challenges confronting the country’s export logistics chain.
The initiatives are expected to improve cargo evacuation, reduce delays and strengthen the competitiveness of Nigerian exporters as the Federal Government intensifies efforts to diversify the economy and grow non-oil exports.
Speaking at the forum, Head of Commercial, APM Terminals Apapa, Kayode Olufemi-Daniel, said the terminal was adopting a collaborative approach to tackling the problems affecting exporters, rather than treating individual operational challenges in isolation.
He said: “We want to understand the pain points with the export process end to end. From there, we look at the root causes of those pain points, identify those root causes, then collectively come up with an action plan on how we can address those issues to increase the export flow.”
A major part of the strategy is the expansion of the terminal’s barging capacity through its dedicated Finger Jetty, which is expected to operate round the clock from the fourth quarter of 2026.
According to Olufemi-Daniel, the facility will handle both incoming and outgoing containers, enabling exporters to move cargo into the terminal, while import containers and empty containers can also be evacuated around the clock.
“This gives us the capacity to handle more barges unlike the past when we had to do barging on our main quay,” he said. “We now have additional barging capacity which will be operated on our Finger Jetty.”
The terminal is also looking to make rail a major component of its export evacuation system, with Key Client Manager, Adesoji Olaniyan, saying the company has set a target of moving 60 per cent of its export containers by rail.
Olaniyan said APM Terminals Apapa currently operates rail evacuation arrangements through two locations, allowing customers to collect empty containers, stuff them and return laden export containers to the terminal by rail.
Each location currently records about three weekly rail calls, depending on demand, while each train has a capacity of approximately 60 twenty-foot equivalent units, TEUs.
He said the terminal’s internal assessment showed that rail remained the most cost-effective option for cargo evacuation, particularly as exporters grapple with the cost and delays associated with moving goods by road.
Olufemi-Daniel said improved communication among exporters, shipping lines, importers and regulatory agencies was equally critical to ensuring that cargo moved through the system with greater visibility and fewer delays.
“We want exporters to come back to Apapa. We want the volumes to come back, which is why we want to ensure the ease of doing business,” he said.
“We want Apapa to become Nigeria’s export gateway, particularly as the Federal Government intensifies efforts to diversify the economy and increase non-oil exports.”
The forum, themed “Exports – Voice of Customers Forum,” provided stakeholders with an opportunity to review operational challenges and assess progress on recommendations from previous engagements.
COSCO Shipping Lines Nigeria Customer Service Manager, Precious Idika, commended the terminal’s Team View portal, saying it had simplified several processes for customers and improved the gating process.
“Working with APM Terminals has been seamless. The Team View Portal is one of the initiatives that has made our work much easier, particularly the gating process,” Idika said.
She said customers could complete payment advice through the portal, while shipping lines also update the system, helping to create a smoother process for accessing the terminal.
Also speaking, Lagos Business School faculty member, Prof. Frank Ojadi, described the exporters forum as an important platform for sustained engagement between the terminal and its customers.
Ojadi, however, urged APM Terminals to extend the initiative beyond Lagos to major commercial and export-producing centres, including Kano and Port Harcourt.
Representatives of Maersk Line, British American Tobacco Nigeria, PIL Nigeria, Allround Cargo Company, Star Living Nigeria and other stakeholders also acknowledged improvements in the terminal’s operations.
