By Dada Ahmed.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has described the Lekki Deep Seaport as a game changer in the Maritime Sector, with the capacity to turn Nigeria into a shipping hub, boost the economy and create jobs.
The Minister made the remarks on Wednesday in Lekki, during a Media Tour of the Lekki Deep Seaport, located 65 kilometers East of Lagos in a statement signed by Segun Adeyemi,Special Assistant to the President (Media)
Office of the Minister of Information and Culture
in Lagos State.
“I called it a game changer because of the impact it will have on the nation’s economy and the jobs it will create, among others,’’ he said.
Alhaji Mohammed said the investment in the seaport was worth 1.53 billion dollars on fixed assets and 800 million dollars on construction.
‘’But the aggregate impact has been put at 361 billion dollars in 45 years, which will be over 200 times the cost of building it. In addition, it will create 169,972 jobs and bring revenues totalling 201 billion dollars to state and federal governments through taxes, royalties and duties,”he added.
He disclosed that the direct and induced business revenue impact had been estimated at 158 billion dollars, in addition to a qualitative impact on manufacturing, trade and commercial services sector.
The Minister said Nigeria also aimed to utilize the Lekki Deep Seaport, to regain the maritime business that was lost to ports in Togo, Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana, stressing that it was also a big boost to Nigeria in its quest to take advantage of the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).
“A major advantage we have to leverage is transshipment. With this port, Nigeria will become a transshipment hub and the revenue we are currently losing to our neighboring countries will come here,” he said.
Alhaji Mohammed commended the shareholders of the Lekki Deep Seaport for deploying first class equipment for its operations, listing some of such equipment as 7 Ship-To-Shore cranes and 21 Rubber Tyred Gantry (RTG) cranes
He said the provision of modern equipment is why the port can do 18,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit (teu), which is more than four times the number that can currently be handled by the other ports in the country.
The Minister said the project was self sufficient in required electricity, adding that” as it is now ready to generate up to 10 Mega Watts, in addition to an installed capacity of 16 mega watts.”
The minister described the Lekki Deep Seaport as another example of the first class infrastructure being developed across the country by the present administration in the country, including roads, rail, airport terminals, gas pipelines, housing, ports, among others.
He appealed to the media to play up the developmental efforts instead of concentrating energy on negativity.
In his remarks, the Managing Director of the Lekki Deep Seaport, Mr. Du Ruogang, said the port, which had reached 89 percent completion, would commence operations before the end of this year, adding that in the next seven years, the construction of the second phase of the port would start.
Our Correspondent gathered that the Lekki Port Investment Holding Incorporation is owned by China Harbour Engineering Company and Tolaram Group with 75% share, Lagos State Government 20% and the Nigerian Port Authority hold 5%.
