Foundations crumbling under APMT's prestigious African port project

Fascinating article from Danish publication ShippingWatch on the prospects for APM Terminals’ flagship greenfield container terminal development at Badagry in Nigeria. The first plans for the 1m teu project were drawn up in 2012, but since then the declining price of oil has dampened demand for consumer goods and other containerised imports, and its rationale has largely evaporated. Meanwhile, the government has repeatedly, and very publicly, stated that APMT had been selected to both build and operate the port, leaving the operator facing a difficult decision. “If Badagry is built before there is an actual demand for the extra volume, this will impact market shares in the region. Where it normally takes ten or more years from the beginning of construction to earn back the investment in this type of project, it might take an additional ten to make up for losses, if the first three or four years of the project’s life see weaker rates than anticipated.”