Nigeria Approves Dredging of Lekki Deep Seaport, Rekindling Debate Over Port Diversification and Congestion in Lagos

The federal government has approved the Duport Divage of the Lekki Sea, a decision to strengthen Nigeria’s maritime capacity and position the country to benefit from larger transhipment volumes across West Africa.

Director General of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Dr. Abubakar Dantssoho, announced approval during an official visit to the establishment this weekend. According to Dantssoho, the federal government will deepen the port channel from its current 16.5 meters at 17 meters, with a long -term ambition to reach 19 meters. The project will be executed in partnership with China Harbor Engineering Company (Cord), following a series of consultations with the stakeholders.

“The increase in the volume of flow at the port of Lekki is exciting for us,” said Dantssoho. “Lekki’s ability to moor the Super Post-Panamax ships and to deliver a quick execution time and ships that change the situation for the competitiveness of exports from Nigeria, in particular for agro-allied products.”

He added that the distinctive characteristics of the port of Lekki, including complete automation and integrated freight handling systems, will strengthen the country’s position as part of the African continental free trade area (AFCFTA). Dantsoho also revealed that the NPA had a contract for a hydrographic survey of the chain, a prerequisite for the compliance of the navigation of the port to international maritime standards.

Since the start of its commercial operations in April 2023, Leport Deep Seapa, the largest in Nigeria, has been promoted as a transformer project. Designed to manage 6 million EVP per year, the port is planned to reduce the freight pressure on the Apapa and Tin Can ports in Lagos. But for many industry observers, the simple expansion of Lekki does not solve the country’s deeper infrastructure imbalance.

Model centered on Lagos under fire

But while Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) is praising approval as an important step for economic competitiveness, development has also rekindled long -standing calls to the decentralization of the port infrastructure of Nigeria. This is a debate that continues to exhibit deep concerns concerning regional economic exclusion and lagos -centered planning.

Economist Kelvin Emmanuel, in a note, said that persistent congestion in Lagos is a symptom of poor strategic planning and political manipulation of port development across the country.

“Congestion in [Lagos] cannot be resolved as long as the Government has seriously allowing all ports to operate freely, “said Emmanuel.

He noted that the oriental maritime corridor of Nigeria – which houses ports like Onene, Calabar, Warri and the Ibaka deep sea port in Akwa Ibom – has been neglected for years, even if Lagos’s logistics infrastructure continues to choke under growing cargo volumes.

“The lies tell Nigerians that Lagos is the best place for the site of port operations in Nigeria. And that all trade begins and ends with Lagos – Méderst Mens! If you do not diversify port operations in the oriental maritime corridor and build the line of standard rail integrated vertically, you will not see inclusive growth,” added Emmanuel.

According to him, the dysfunctional state of port infrastructure outside Lagos is not accidental.

“I did my conclusions and it was Abuja who prevents the port of Ibaka in the deep sea in Akwa Ibom of the future,” he said. “You cannot claim to be progressive and restrict maritime operations in the western flank. It’s dishonest. “

At the heart of the debate is the call to a more balanced distribution of the Nigeria maritime economy. Emmanuel argued that political interests have locked the states in the South East and the Northeast to fully benefit from the Nigeria international commercial activities.

“Decentralize port operations to the eastern sea corridor so that the Southeast and the Northeast can benefit,” he said. “Remove the categorization of the port of onne as E&P [Exploration & Production]So the costs of non -oil and gas cargoes will allow it to compete with Lagos. Governance that is not structurally just for everyone is dishonest. »»

The wearing of the state of rivers, for example, is currently designated mainly for oil and gas cargoes – a classification which increases costs for non -oil trade and limits the competitiveness of the port. Some say that this categorization must be deleted if the ports of onne and similar must play a significant role in the decongestion of Lagos.

The Federal Ministry of the Navy and the Blue Economy, led by Minister Adegboyega Oyetola, has ceased to modernize Nigerian ports, emphasizing the complete automation and possible implementation of the National window (NSW) for port logistics. But experts say that these reforms must go beyond upgrades to infrastructure and adopt a structural change in the way the country addresses the distribution of ports.

Nigeria aimed at becoming a regional maritime center under the AFCFTA, the approval of the dredging of Lekki Deep Seaport once again rekindled pressure on the federal government to combat port imbalance – not only as a political question – but as a structural injustice which hinders the economic inclusion of the federation.