Monsur Olowoopejo
18 December 2012, Sweetcrude, Lagos — Nigeria’s Federal Government, the Lagos State governmnet and private investors known as ‘Ports at Lekki,’ Monday, signed an agreement for the construction of a new deep sea port in Lekki axis of Lagos State.
At the signing ceremony held at the State House, Alausa, Ikeja, the Federal Government and Lagos State were represented by Managing Director, Nigeria Ports Authority, NPA; Mr. Habib Abdullahi, Lagos State Commissioner for commerce and Industry with, Mrs. Olusola Oworu while the private investors were presented by Mr. John Mastroudes.
Speaking after the brief ceremony, Abdullahi said the port would serve as a complement for the Tin Can and Apapa ports, that were already congested and cannot be expanded to accommodate berth of large vessels, adding, “this is part of the challenge that would be addressed significantly by the new port.”
He emphasised that the project would enhance the economy of the country as maritime sector has been identified with great potentials of boosting the country’s revenue.
According to him, “The partnership is such that, the foreign investor, ‘Ports at Lekki’ would be contributing 60 per cent of the entire project while the Federal through the NPA and state government would be investing 20 per cent each, for the construction of the port.”
The Managing Director explained: “That is how the contract will work. And the driving force behind the contract are the investors (foreign partners), who have already commenced work at the site of the port.
“They have already invested some huge amount of money into the project and we are expected also to put in our equities.”
Abdullahi noted that the NPA would be providing the technical support for the project, in order to ensure that the project complied with the international standards.
