Nigeria Signs $7bn Port And Industrial Zone Deals With DP World

Nigeria’s Ogun state has signed agreements with DP World to develop a deep-sea port and a 10,000-hectare special economic zone, projects that the government says could attract more than 7 billion US dollars in initial investment and create more than 50,000 direct jobs.

The agreements were signed in Paris in the presence of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Ogun state governor Dapo Abiodun. The projects comprise the Gateway Deep Seaport at Ogun Waterside and the Ogun State Blue Marine Special Economic Zone.

The proposed deep-sea port will have a four-kilometre berth and an 18-metre draft, allowing it to accommodate larger vessels and providing an alternative to the existing Lagos port corridor.

The Nigerian government expects the port to ease pressure on Apapa and Tin Can Island ports and reduce costs and delays associated with the movement of goods for importers and exporters.

The Blue Marine Special Economic Zone is planned to cover 10,000 hectares and is intended to support manufacturing and industrial activities. The government said imported inputs could be processed into finished products within the zone, while Nigerian raw materials could be processed for export.

At full development, the projects are projected to create more than 50,000 direct jobs and additional indirect employment, while generating non-oil export earnings, according to the government.

Tinubu said the federal government would provide regulatory and institutional support to move the projects from agreements to implementation. He also pledged federal support for road, rail and power connections and said unnecessary administrative obstacles would be removed.

The projects are being positioned as part of Nigeria’s efforts to expand its maritime economy and strengthen its position in regional trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area, which provides access to a continental market of about 1.4 billion people.

Tinubu said the port and economic zone were designed as an integrated industrial and logistics system, with the seaport providing infrastructure to support businesses operating within the special economic zone.

The projects are also expected to form part of a wider economic corridor around Ogun Waterside, linking the area with the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway, a proposed Nigerian Navy operating base and dockyard and the OK LNG project.

The 28-kilometre Ogun section of the planned 700-kilometre Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway is scheduled for completion before the end of 2026, according to Tinubu. The federal government expects the road to improve connections between the port, the economic zone, Lagos and markets in Nigeria and the wider region.

DP World, a global port and logistics operator, is participating in the development, while SkyKapital is serving as financial adviser.

The agreements expand efforts by the federal and Ogun state governments to develop new maritime and industrial infrastructure outside the existing Lagos port complex.

Tinubu said the federal government would work with Ogun state and investors to facilitate implementation while ensuring that the projects comply with Nigeria’s laws and regulatory requirements.

Source: FSX Business News