FG, LASG to construct Deep Sea Port in Lekki

Hurray!!! The federal government and Lagos State Government in collaboration with a private investor has concluded arrangements and signed an agreement for the construction of a Deep Sea Port in Lekki Area of the state.

The agreement signing which took place on Monday at Ikeja had in attendance the officials of “Ports at Lekki”, the private investor in the project.

Habib Abdullahi, Managing Director, Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), who signed on behalf of the federal government, said the project was conceived to complement the Tin Can and Apapa Ports.

Abdullahi noted that the two existing ports had been overstretched, saying that the project would boost the state`s economy significantly and also tackle the problem of ports congestion.

“The partnership is such that, there is one foreign investor in the deal on a 60-20-20 per cent basis,” he said. 

“That is 60 per cent for foreign investors, 20 per cent for federal government through NPA and 20 per cent equity for the state government.

That is how it is going to work. The driving force will be the foreign partners, who have already started work there, they have already invested some amount and we are expected also to put in our equities.

He added that the NPA would also provide technical support for the project to ensure it complied with the required standards.

Abdullahi said the NPA planned to construct more ports in the state and other parts of the country.

In her comments, Olusola Oworu, the state’s Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, said the project was conceived out of the need to have a modern and a truly deep sea port that could take large vessels in the country.

Oworu explained that existing ports in the country no longer had the capacity to handle the traffic following the expansion of the nation`s economy.

Joseph Sanusi, former Governor, Central Bank Nigeria (CBN), said the project when completed would not only impact positively on the state's economy, but also the national economy.