WE ARE WORKING TO EXPAND THE ECONOMY –PRESIDENT JONATHAN

By MUSA ADUWAK

President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has said the Administration was working hard to diversify and expand the Nigerian economy.

President Jonathan was speaking to Mr. Nils S. Adersen, Group Chief Executive Officer, who led a delegation of A.P. Moeller-Maersk Group on a courtesy visit to State House, Monday.

‘We are aggressively expanding other sectors of the national economy, to reduce dependence on oil, and increase exports’, he stated, adding that this would boost manufacturing and enable containers bringing goods to Nigeria to return full.

President Jonathan appealed to AP Moeller-Maersk to assist the on-going effort to speed up clearance of goods from the ports, in order to attain the 48-hour target from the current average of 7 days from the date of arrival.

The President thanked the company for investing in Nigeria.

Earlier, Mr. Nils Andersen told the President that his company had invested $200m in a facility in Apapa, and was putting in another $125 million to expand its capacity to handle 1.2 million containers per year, adding that its facility at Onne Port was being upgraded at a cost of $35 million.

Mr. Andersen said in seven years time, current port facilities in Nigeria would be inadequate, so AP Moeller-Maersk was looking at a billion dollar investment in another port, adding that this was an indication of their confidence in Nigeria.
PSN