The ports on the Niger River in Nigeria are receiving attention in line with Nigerian government policy. A programme of dredging and port refurbishment has led to the Onitsha River Port being refurbished and upgraded during the last year, adding warehousing, port accommodation, storage space and cranes in the shape of two Liebherr harbour mobile cranes, type LHM 180. These machines have a maximum lifting capacity of 64 tonnes and a maximum outreach of 35 metres.
The cranes will be used to handle a wide variety of breakbulk cargoes, including iron billets for the steel mills, building and construction materials, spare parts, wine and spirits, tyres, cements, cars and the occasional container, an area where growth is expected. The cranes can also be adapted for bulk handling if needed.
The project was coordinated and carried out by Inter-Bau Construction Ltd, a well known construction company in Nigeria. Having local offices and workshops meant manpower and equipment were readily available.
Sir Nath Okechukwu, the owner and chairman of the group, said, “Building something like a river port for the benefit of the local community gave me great pleasure. Working with international companies such as Liebherr, assisted us in the equipment selection part of the task, and we hope to work with them again on future projects.”
Engr. Emmanuel Aguda, resident engineer from the National Inland Waterways Authority said, “The cranes give us great flexibility, allowing project cargo up to 64 tonnes, a variety of break bulk cargoes and even use of a motor grab for bulks later.They can also transit to all areas of the port.”
 
ABOUT THE COMPANY
The Liebherr Group comprises more than 120 companies in every continent of the world and employs a workforce of nearly 33,000 people. In the past few years the Liebherr Group has undergone dynamic development and in 2010, achieved a total consolidated turnover of about €7.6 billion.
The Liebherr Group’s holding company is Liebherr-International AG in Bulle, Switzerland, which is entirely owned by members of the Liebherr family. The family business is already in the hands of the second generation, and is jointly managed by Dipl.-Kfm. Isolde Liebherr and her brother Dr.h.c. Dipl-Ing. (ETH) Willi Liebherr.
Liebherr-Werk Nenzing GmbH, Nenzing (Austria), is the largest maritime crane production site. Nenzing is head of the divisional control company, the Liebherr-MCCtec GmbH, which is responsible for the Liebherr range of maritime cranes. The Liebherr-Werk Nenzing GmbH manufactures and markets an extensive range of product lines including ship cranes, offshore cranes, mobile harbour cranes and reachstackers. On the international building machinery market Liebherr offers a broad range of universal duty cycle crawler cranes, lift cranes as well as foundation equipment.
The Nenzing plant co-ordinates further production sites in Sunderland (Great Britain) and Rostock (Germany) as well as fully owned sales and service organizations in Hong Kong (China), Hamburg (Germany), Amersfoort (Netherlands), Niederhergheim (France), Mumbai (India), Istanbul (Turkey) and Baku (Azerbaijan).