Nigeria : The President Muhammadu Buhari commissions Lekki Deep Sea Port
On Monday January 23, 2023, the President Muhammadu Buhari officially inaugurated the Lekki Deep Sea Port, in Lagos, Nigeria, in the presence of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, the Minister of Transportation, Muazu Sambo, the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Ciu Jianchun, top government officials and traditional rulers, etc.
This project with an investment in excess of $1.5 billion is a Joint Venture between the Federal Government of Nigeria through the Nigerian Ports Authority (5%), Lagos State Government (20%), the Tolarams Group, the owner of the Lagos Free Zone (22.5%), and China Harbour Engineering Company (52.5%).
The Lekki Deep Sea Port is Nigeria’s first deep sea port and first fully automated port, equipped with state-of-the-art Super Post-Panamax ship-to-shore cranes, and RTG cranes.
Phase 1 of the project, to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2022 and commissioned yesterday, has the following features:
- an area of 50 hectares;
- the approach channel is around 11km long and 16.5m deep; main breakwater is 1.9km long;
- when fully completed, the quay will be 1,523 metres long and the turning circle will be approximately 600 metres in diameter;
- two (2) container berths with a total capacity of 1.2 million TEU per year (upon final completion, there will be a total of three container berths, one dry bulk berth and three liquid berths).
Speaking at the occasion, the Lagos Governor said : “We are excited that the size of the vessels that will berth at the port would be four times the size of vessels that currently berth at Apapa and Tin Can Island Port. “We are excited that in your own time, something fresh has been birthed in this country and it is going to generate thousands of direct and indirect jobs.”
“Completing a project of the magnitude and impact of a deep seaport in a record time of 45 months shows the effectiveness of tenacious ministerial supervision, strict regulatory oversight and strong presidential backing.” said the Minister of Transportation.
The Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Jianchun explained that the Port is the number one deep sea port in West Africa and one of the most modern and efficient ports in sub-Saharan Africa. “It is estimated that the overall economic benefits will reach more than 360 billion USD, becoming a new engine of economic development that will empower the southwest region and the whole country”.
According to the Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority, Mr. Mohammed Bello Koko, “Having the deepest port in Nigeria will improve traffic flow in the Apapa corridor, lower freight costs, and ultimately lower trading costs.”
“For us at Nigerian Ports Authority, we intend to take advantage of this to recapture transshipment and transit cargoes that would typically call at nearby ports. Through PPP, additional deep-sea ports will come on board in the next few years. Several requests are being worked on by the Authority and Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission. The outlook is positive and promising.” he added.
