Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has been given permission to proceed with plans to build the $2.5bn Badagry deep seaport. The permission gives the concession of the Badagry Deep Seaport the essential legal groundwork. This comes following the issue of the comprehensive business case certificate by the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission, last year.
Sanwo-Olu signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Siemens Energy Limited and the German-owned Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) to establish an Energy Training Center of Excellence at the Government Technical College in Ikorodu after receiving the approval at the recently concluded Ehingbeti Economic Summit in Victoria Island, Lagos.
Dr. Bashir Jamoh, Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), affirms that the Deep Seaport project is a crucial step in making Nigeria a major maritime hub.
Bashir said, “Nigeria has the potential to grow into a significant global maritime commercial center in this area owing to the 853m of coastline and a strategic location in the Atlantic Ocean. Additionally, we have a significant financial advantage because 70% of freight heading for West and Central Africa passes through Nigeria.
He continued, “When it opens, the Badagry deep seaport will be Africa’s largest and most technologically sophisticated seaport. Furthermore, it will contribute to maximizing this exceptional maritime potential, especially true considering Badagry’s key location in the area.”
Reported Earlier
Jul 2015
Africa’s biggest deep-sea port – Badagry Port
Nigeria is set to host Africa’s biggest deep seaport dubbed Badagry Deep-Sea Port in Lagos. This was revealed by the State Government of Lagos during a visit to the site of the project in Badagry alongside some top state officials confirming that the state government has plans to construct the deep seaport on a piece of land measuring over 1,000 hectares in Badagry.
However, according to Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, the state governor, the port project is expected to commence by end of September this year. According to a statement issued by the state government, quite a number of foreign and domestic investors including the Maersk Group have shown interest in the project and have as well signed an agreement of contribution towards the project.
The Badagry Deep-Sea Port project is expected to create thousands of job opportunities for the citizens and has positioned the country to be the first country in Africa to host the largest cargo container port. The port project will also include a free trade zone and a container terminal.
It is also expected to be a long-lasting investment and a boost to the growth of the country’s economy in addition to improvement of the citizen’s living standards through tourist attractions. Furthermore, new settlements are expected to be erected within the project perimeters in Badagry.
Nov 2016
Construction begins on Africa’s largest deep seaport in Nigeria
Construction of Africa’s largest deep seaport situated in the Badagry area of Lagos has officially started. The project is a joint venture between Integrated Logistics Services (INTELS) and the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA).
The INTELS management said that the project is very much on schedule and once completed it will be Africa’s largest deep seaport. The management also added that its plan is to invest in concessioned terminals in line with what is stated in the concession agreement between NPA and the Ministry of transport in line with the federal government’s strategy on infrastructure development.
The Badagry Deep-Sea Port project will cost US$ 2.6B and is expected to be a huge milestone that will go a long way to bring global growth to Nigerian’s waters, the country’s economy, and also complement the materialization of Lagos as the 5th largest economy in the continent. The project will also generate about 500,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities.
April 2019
Nigeria to construct US $1.5bn new deep-sea port
Nigeria is set to construct a new deep seaport and two additional facilities in a bid to ease congestion in the main harbors of the commercial capital, Lagos, which currently handles about 80% of all shipping traffic.
According to Nigerian Ports Authority Managing Director Hadiza Bala Usman, a new facility is already under construction in the Lekki Free Trade Zone in Lagos through a public-private partnership. One of the two new facilities may be built in the Badagry area of the city, near the border with Benin while the other ‘Ibom seaport, is under consideration in the oil-rich Niger delta.
“The ports of Lagos – known as the Apapa and Tin Can Island ports – serve as hubs for cargo transiting through Africa’s most populous nation, but inefficiency and congested roads to the ports mean daily queues of hundreds of trucks. We have congestion because 80% of our cargo goes on the road.
The government wants to focus on improving the nearby roads and other infrastructure to ease the transportation of goods including cars, computers, food, and machinery,” said Usman.
New seaport
The new seaport development will cost the US $1.5bn. It will feature three container berths, one dry bulk berth, and three liquid berths. It would be capable of handling up to 2.7 million TEUs on an annual basis.
China Harbour Engineering Company Limited (CHEC), the engineering and construction arm of China Construction and Communication Company (CCCC), is the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contractor for the Port (through China Harbour Engineering LFTZ Enterprise); while Louis Berger Group, USA, one of the largest multi-disciplinary infrastructure consulting firm in the world is the Project Management Consultant (PMC) will be in charge of supervising the construction of the port.
Port developers are also expected to undertake dredging of the port channel to a depth of about 16 meters in an effort to accommodate larger ships. The development is expected to be complete in 2020.
March 2022
Construction of Badagry Deep-Sea Port likely to begin in June 2022
Recently, the Lagos governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, stated that construction on the Badagry Deep-Sea Port would begin in June 2022 after the state is granted approval by the federal government in April. Governor Sanwo-Olu guaranteed this after an outcry from the host communities over the alleged neglect and delay of the Badagry Seaport project, an idea that was conceived over a decade ago.
He reaffirmed his government’s willingness to compensate citizens for economic losses caused by the deep seaport on buildings, ancestral grounds, farms, and places. Sanwo-Olu assured the people of Badagry that his regime was focused on pushing development to the Badagry axis of Lagos, speaking at the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria Auditorium in Topo, Badagry, during a stakeholders briefing and social inclusion on the Badagry Deep-Sea Port Project.
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According to the state’s governor, Mr. Sanwo-Olu, the Badagry Deep-Sea Port is more than a single project; it represents a multi-level potential for growth for all the people of this state. He stated that they were waiting for the federal government’s ratification, which he believed would occur by the end of April. He added that they were pushing Badagry’s development deliberately.
He stated that once the Badagry deep seaport project is fully operational, the project would improve the lives of Badagry, the state, and the West African region as a whole. He emphasized prioritizing employment and capacity building for the teeming youth and women in the affected communities.
Mr. Sanwo-Olu stated that the stakeholders’ meeting would assist stakeholders to think together and set a unified course of action in order to make the Badagry Deep Seaport a reality in the shortest possible time.
