Nigeria’s first deep sea port is set to open in the commercial capital of Lagos in September. The Lekki deep sea port has reached 89% completion and is set to transform Nigeria  into an African hub for transshipment upon completion.

“With this port, Nigeria will become a transshipment hub,” said the Information and culture Minister Lai Mohammed said during a routine tour to the port under construction.

The Lagos based sea port is being constructed by China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd. (CHEC), at the center of the Lagos Free Trade Zone, approximately 60 km east of Lagos.

According to projections by the state and federal government of Nigeria, the deep sea port is expected to create 170,000 jobs and bring revenues totaling to $201BN through royalties, taxes and duties. “It is the deepest seaport in Nigeria and West Africa, which gives us a unique advantage,” Mohammed said.

 “It is also a big boost to Nigeria in its quest to take advantage of implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA),” he reiterated

The new port which has been described as a game changer for Nigeria’s economy has 18,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit capacity which is more than four times the capacity that can be handled by existing ports in the country.

“I call it a game changer because of the impact it would have on the nation’s economy and the jobs it will create, among others. The investment is huge: $1.53 billion on fixed assets and 800 million on construction. But the aggregate impact has been put at $361 billion in 45 years, which would be over 200 times the cost of building it,” said Mohammed

 The multi-billion dollar deep seaport has been under development for more than a decade and is being viewed as a part of the solution for Nigeria to regain maritime business that has been lost to ports in Togo, Ivory Coast and Ghana.

Written by

Be the first to know

Get our stories first