Lagos State’s Lekki Deep Seaport to commence operations by Q1 2023
The Lekki Deep Seaport is expected to begin operations by the first quarter of 2023, as the construction firm, China Habour Engineering firm has made tremendous improvement with the project.
This was disclosed by the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, in a statement when he visited the Lagos Free Zone on Friday.
He said, “Given the report I got and what I have seen here, I can say that Lagos Free Zone has made tremendous improvement. We have seen the level of partnership Tolaram Group is bringing in terms of international investment and local brands on this corridor.
“I commend all stakeholders that are with us on this journey we have found ourselves. With the level of work we have seen, I’m truly excited. It is more gratifying that we are taking up this assignment with all energies required and we all can see what we can achieve when we work together.
“Since we signed a loan agreement less than 18 months ago, we have demonstrated strong capability in bringing the project to reality. This is the first quarter of 2021 and we have seen the project in about 48% completion. The investors have given us the commitment in the first quarter of the 2023 completion date. We will fulfil all our parts to make sure this date becomes reality.”
After going through the project master plan, Sanwo-Olu said his administration remained committed to delivering the project, stressing that the deep seaport and other investments happening in the corridor had the potential to increase the State’s GDP in multiple folds.
The port, which is being constructed by China Habour Engineering firm, is occupying 90 hectares in the entire 830 hectares of land carved out for the Lagos Free Zone, created in 2012 to enhance the economic position of Lagos as a manufacturing and logistics hub in West Africa.
The first phase of the seaport project, which is being financed by a $629 million facility from China Development Bank (CDB), is at 48% completion.
The size of the deep seaport will allow 18,000 TEU capacity vessels, which are four times bigger than the ones berthing at Apapa seaports, thereby scaling down the cost of container transportation from any part of the world.
When it is completed, the deep seaport is expected to generate more than 170,000 direct and indirect job opportunities for Lagos residents and serve as an alternative in an effort to decongest the Federal Government-owned seaports in Apapa.
Tolaram Group, a Singaporean company, initiated a $2 billion investment in the Lagos Free Zone, out of which the investor committed $950 million to develop a manufacturing hub in the zone.
Suzan O/NM/Lagos State FB page
