Maersk Mulls African Expansion
AP. Moeller-Maersk A/S, owner of the world’s largest shipping container line Maersk Line is to drive to secure contracts to build and upgrade ports in Nigeria and Kenya, according to Bloomberg.
Maersk is awaiting a final sign-off on a contract to help build a new port in Badagry in Nigeria’s southern Lagos state, according to Lars Reno Jakobsen, the company’s senior vice president for Africa.
Lars Reno Jakobsen, Senior Vice President for Africa of Maersk Line, said; “That project, once it’s been finalized could be more than US$2 billion in terms of investment.
“Hopefully we can start sometime this year. It will provide capacity, not only for containers, but also for oil, break-bulk and offshore.”
Despite being the world’s largest shipping line, Maersk has been on the offensive in its determination to grow after recently announcing an order for multiple mega-ships.
Maersk will invest US$1.5bn for the expansion of Port of Tema in Ghana, touted to be the largest in Africa. It's working on the expansion to Ghana’s Tema Port in collaboration with the West African nation’s ports authority.
Maersk employs almost 10,000 people in more than 40 African nations and generates about 10 percent of its sales in and around the continent. Besides its shipping business, the Copenhagen-based company supplies oil- and gas-related services. The company’s APM Terminals unit operates 10 West African ports.
