APM Terminals pens multi-million dollar deal to ‘advance’ electrification efforts in Nigeria

September 24, 2025, by Sara Kosmajac

APM Terminals’ West African Container Terminal (WACT) in Onne and the Nigerian Ports Authority have joined forces to speed up electrification and decarbonization initiatives across Nigeria’s ports and the country’s transport ecosystem.

According to APM Terminals, which is a Netherlands-based arm of Danish shipping and logistics titan Maersk, the agreement was formalized on September 22 at the Dutch Consulate in New York, where the parties inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU)

As disclosed, the MoU has been envisaged as a way to set up a roadmap for electrifying containerized freight, in line with the policies of the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy in the African nation.

It is understood that the collaboration’s funding, estimated at around $60 million, will be fully covered by APM Terminals, which presently operates two container terminals in Nigeria, namely, WACT and Apapa in Lagos.

“We believe that Nigeria is ideally situated to lead West Africa’s transition to low-carbon logistics by electrifying its container transport sector. Nigeria is Africa’s largest economy and trade hub, and our research shows us that the country can leapfrog fossil-fuel infrastructure and adopt proven electric technologies,” Frederik Klinke, CEO of APM Terminals Nigeria, commented.

Reflecting further on this partnership, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, Abubakar Dantsoho, said: “By this development, the Onne Port will be the first green port in Nigeria and will thereby be promoting the decarbonisation efforts within the transportation ecosystem.”

To remind, APM Terminals first presented the agreement’s groundwork at a summit held in Abuja in July this year, where the company shared a study with the country’s Vice President. The findings suggested that shifting container freight from fossil fuels to electrification could attract private investment, generate skilled jobs, and strengthen the reliability of Nigeria’s energy supply.

The study also suggested that the transition to electrification—considered by many as a vital path toward net zero—could mobilize up to $830 million in investments by 2030, as well as save 390 ktCO2e in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Nevertheless, APM Terminals’ report emphasized that realizing such a transition would depend on cross-sector coordination and ‘robust’ public-private collaboration.

View on Offshore-energy.