ENL Consortium Ltd, the concessionaire operating Terminals C and D at the Lagos Port Complex, Apapa, Friday, added a feather to her rich cap by winning a prestigious award, Most Outstanding Maritime Company Of The Decade”.
Four years ago, it is recalled, ENL Consortium Ltd won the Most Outstanding Maritime Operator of the Year award at the 2018 Independent Newspapers Awards in Lagos.
The terminal also bagged the Port and Container Terminal Development Award laurel at the prestigious Seatrade International Award held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
“Our resolve to recognize players and gladiators as well as iconic leaders in the business of brand management and the management of brand business was informed by the fact that these are the people that have made the industry tick over the years”, said John Ajayi, the Chief Executive Officer of Marketing Edge, a company that midwived the award.
“We have watched and monitored these individuals and agencies very closely in the last 19 years and can confidently attest to their market leadership, resilience, excellence and above all landmark achievements in their various sectors,” Ajayi said.
Receiving the laurel, the Executive Vice Chairman/CEO, ENL Consortium, Princess Vicky Haastrup, dedicated it to “all the hardworking management and staff” of the company. She urged that all hands must be on deck to promote the development of the maritime sector.
Mr Mark Walsh, the Executive Director, Operations, who stood in for Mrs Haastrup at the award ceremony disclosed that ENL Consortium has made substantial investments in human and material resources at the port.
“We have good people working with us and I am happy to dedicate this award to all of them – the hardworking, committed and patriotic staff of ENL Consortium, who work day and night to ensure that ships are promptly discharged and cargoes are delivered in good time to their owners.
“When we came into the port in 2006, the terminals handed over to us to manage were at ground zero. Nothing was working. The equipment were not functional, there were endless ship queues even as touts called the shots. The morale of workers was at its lowest ebb.
“But immediately we resumed duty, we turned the story around. Today, we have dockworkers who are proud to be called dockworkers because they now have good conditions of service. We have acquired modern cargo handling equipment to ensure that ships are discharged in good time.
Mrs Haastrup stated that ENL Consortium also embarked on massive civil engineering works to develop the terminal and raise its operational standard to what is obtainable in the ports of advanced countries.
“To put an end to touting, I personally led the battle against the category of people called ‘wharf rats’ who were a menace to the system. Today the terminal is professionally run. Things are working well inside the port and our country is the better for it,” she said.
Beside Mr Mark Walsh, other top officials of the terminal operator who graced the occasion included the Legal Adviser/Head of Admin, Barrister Boye Uzamot and Public Relations Manager, Mrs Lydia Agbashe. Also present was the Managing Director, Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency (LASAA), Prince Adedamola Docemo.
