By John Ikani
Nigeria’s newest gateway to the world is now open for business.
The billion-dollar Lekki Deep Seaport, a state-of-the-art facility built by China, offers a glimpse into the country’s ambitious plans for economic growth and development.
Here are five things you should know about the game-changing project.
1. The Lekki Deep Sea Port, which is located in Lagos, Nigeria, is a billion-dollar Chinese-built deep seaport. It was officially commissioned by President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday.
2. The China Harbor Engineering Company Ltd (CHEC) handed over the deep sea port to the Nigerian Government in November 2020.
3. A commercial project of tripartite cooperation between China, France and Nigeria, the port is 75% owned by CHEC and Tolaram Group, with the remaining 25% shared between the Lagos Sttate Government and the Nigerian Ports Authority.
4. The port is the largest seaport in Nigeria and one of the biggest in West Africa. It is designed to handle 1.2 million standard containers annually, ease congestion at Nigeria’s other ports and help the country become an African hub for trans-shipment.
5. Intricately woven in President Buhari’s government’s economic policy, the port is expected to create at least 200,000 jobs.
In summary, the Lekki Deep Sea Port is a game-changing infrastructure project for Nigeria, expected to create jobs, boost trans-shipment and ease congestion at the country’s ports.
It is a symbol of cooperation between China, France and Nigeria and a major milestone in Nigeria’s development.
