$2 Billion Lekki Deep Sea Port Berths First Cargo

The Nigeria Port Authority (NPA) on Friday announced that the $2 billion Lekki Deep Sea Port in Lagos has docked its first ship.

Mohammed Bello-Koko, the Managing Director of NPA, who received the marine vessel “Zhen Hua 28”, explained that the Lekki Deep Sea Port would help decongest Apapa Ports and reduce ship waiting time by about 60%.

Estimated at $2 billion, Lekki Deep Seaport was constructed by China Habour Engineering firm to ease shipment pressure and improve the efficiency of Nigeria’s maritime economy.

According to Koko, the port has the capacity to evacuate and handle more cargoes because of a series of automation integrated into it during construction.

“The successful delivery today (yesterday) at the Lekki Deep Seaport of three Super Post Panamax state-of-the art Ship to Shore (STS) Cranes and 10 Rubber Tyred Gantries (RTG) is a testament to the unflinching commitment of NPA to providing the support necessary for placing Nigeria on the global list of countries with Deep Seaports.

Koko said: “The successful delivery of these very important equipment which are critical for the Lekki Deep Seaport to commence operations before the end of the year 2022 is a demonstration of our readiness to take trade facilitation a notch higher. This has been made possible by the tremendous backing of His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari and the Federal Ministry of Transportation who have over the time played a key role from the initial construction stage and also granted fast tracked approval for this historic exercise.

“For us at the NPA, the coming on stream of Lekki symbolises a lot of positives. Apart from being Nigeria’s first Deep Seaport, Lekki Port will also be the first fully automated port at take-off. This provides an insight into the path we are already toeing as a management team to govern the operationalisation of not just the forthcoming Badagry, Ibom and Bonny Deep Seaports, but also of the reconstruction of the aged Tin-Can Port, where work is set to commence once we secure the necessary approvals from the Federal Ministry of Transportation and FEC, respectively.”

He stated that “automation remains the most veritable tool for assuring port efficiency, and as most of us are aware, the NPA is working assiduously under the technical guidance of the International Maritime Organization to deploy the Port Community System (PCS), which will enable us respond squarely to the dictates of global trade facilitation and optimise the opportunities of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement to which Nigeria is signatory.”