Daily Independent (Lagos)
2 July 2009
Lagos — For the management of Intels Nigeria Limited, a logistic service company and port concessionaire, the current global low business activities will not diminish investments in its facilities and human resources.
This is because, the company want to be fully ready to handle increased business activities, when it eventually picks up.
Intels, which operates in Port Harcourt, Onne, and Warri, is one of the concessionaires that benefited from the concession exercise embarked upon by the federal government in the maritime sector in 2006.
The concession culminated in the concession of sections of the ports in Apapa, Tin Can Island, Warri, Onne, Port Harcourt and other private sector operators, who have the platitude to build, modernize and operate the concession areas for the overall benefit of the stakeholders.
General manager of the company, Simone Volpi told a select maritime journalists in Port Harcourt on Tuesday that Intels has been investing much in its facilities and workforce despite low cargo volume, which he said, was a global problem.
"We have been investing quite expensively in the facility despite low cargo volume. We have continued investing in both the facility and the workforce because, being a service company, we cannot render service without improved workforce.
"We cannot wait for the market to pick up before investing. Worldwide, the market is low and we are still investing to be ready when it picks up," he said.
Recently, Intels took delivery of its new Liebherr LHM 600 at its federal ocean terminal and federal lighter terminal in the Onne Oil and Gas Free Zone.
The crane, which is believed to be the largest harbour mobile crane in Africa, has a maximum lifting capacity of 208 tonnes on the ropes out to a massive 17 meter radius from the crane center line and it rivals most telescopic and crawler mobiles in the region too.
It sits on the Liebherr undercarriage, meaning it can travel easily around the berths and set-up without the long preparation needed for the normal heavy lift cranes- no mobilization or demobilization, just drive up, prop-up and lift-up.
With more investment planned for the future, Intels believes a second LHM 600 would be the right direction to go.
With the new Liebherr Synchrolift and a second crane, Intels would be in the position to lift loads up to 400 tonnes. This would probably cover all cargoes coming in to Nigeria for the next 10 to 15 years.
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