President Muhammad Buhari commissions $1.5 billion Lekki Deep Sea Port on January 23rd, 2023. The commissioning took place at the Lagos Free Trade Zone, Ibeju Lekki, Lagos, Nigeria.
The Lekki deep seaport is the first of its kind in West and Central Africa, with a draught of 16.5m, The terminal is expected to be able to handle 2.5 million 20-foot standard containers per year. The seaport spanning over 600 meters, is enough for a vessel of up to 16,000 standard containers (TEU). The approach channel is 11 km long with three terminals comprising; the container terminal, the liquid terminal, and the dry bulk terminal,
Speaking at the commissioning, the Minister of Transport, said the port will offer enormous support in expanding commercial operations in Nigeria and entire West Africa. According to him, the benefits of the ports will reduce delays in the supply of raw materials and equipment, and reduction in costs of importation and charges, such as demurrage, among others.
The port offers tremendous benefits to Nigeria's maritime including, improvement of external trade competitiveness through improved port efficiency, cost-effective port operations and services, and improved turnaround time for cargo handling and clearance.
