NIGERIA – Hapag-Lloyd, a German international shipping and container transportation company, has opened its new office in Lagos, Nigeria.

Hapag-Lloyd in a statement noted that, as the largest economy and one of the most populous countries in Africa, Nigeria plays a crucial role in its growth strategy on the continent.

Lagos is one of the most important port cities in Africa and is home to the Lagos Port Complex and the Tin Can Port complex.

The two ports handle over 1.5 million TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units) and are among the top 500 ports in the world.

“We are happy to welcome the new team and our country manager Florian Nittscher to the Hapag-Lloyd family!” says Vishal Bundhun, Managing Director Area West Africa at Hapag-Lloyd.

“Via the Middle East India Africa Express (MIAX) and the Mediterranean West Africa Express (MWX), Nigeria is well-connected to the global Hapag-Lloyd network. With our new office, we move even closer to our customers in the region.”

Vishal Bundun- Hapah-Lloyd Managing Director for West Africa Area

Nigeria, with a large oil reserves and a growing middle class, is the economic power house of West Africa. The country is the 29th largest economy in the world in terms of GDP.

It is number 50 in total exports, number 53 in total imports, and number 134 most complex economy according to the Economic Complexity Index (ECI).

In 2018, Nigeria exported $59.5B and imported $48.7B, resulting in a positive trade balance of $10.9B.

The value of goods imported and exported from the country makes it an ideal location for major shipping companies such as Hapag-Lloyd.

“Hapag-Lloyd has been expanding its business steadily in West Africa over the past years”, explains Dheeraj Bhatia, Senior Managing Director Region Middle East at Hapag-Lloyd.

“Our new office in Lagos will create further growth for us and will help us to even better connect Nigeria to the world.”

At the beginning of the year Hapag-Lloyd opened a dedicated Quality Service Center in Mauritius in order to offer its African customers consistently high service all over the continent.

Founded in 1970 by a merger of two German transportation/maritime companies, Hamburg-American Line (HAPAG) and Norddeutscher Lloyd (NDL), Hapag-Lloyed is currently the world’s fifth largest container carrier in terms of vessel capacity.

Hapag-Lloyd boasts of a transport capacity of 1.6 million TEU, as well as a container stock of more than 2.3 million TEU, including one of the world’s largest and most modern reefer container fleets.

A total of 120 liner services worldwide ensure fast and reliable connections between more than 600 ports on all the continents.

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