Last Friday, MV ZHEN HUA 28, dropped her anchor at the $2 billion ultra-modern Lekki Deep Seaport, Lagos, becoming the first vessel to make the big crossing from China to Nigeria through the Indian Ocean.
Her arrival with cargo handling equipment meant for the port took about 30 days and is quite an achievement for the nation’s first deep seaport.
The voyage was indeed remarkable for its international and local partners who invested in the port, thereby boosting trade with Nigeria and the rest of the world.
The arrival of the three Ship-to-Shore cranes and 10 Rubber-Tyred Gantries represented a major step toward birthing Nigeria’s first deep seaport.
The arrival of the operational facilities is preparatory to the commencement of commercial operations at the Lekki Deep Sea Port, which Tolaram has the concession to build and operate for 45 years. The company had appointed the world’s biggest marine engineering company, the China Harbour Engineering Company, as the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contractor to oversee the design, construction and commissioning of the port project.
When it comes mainstream, the Lekki Port is expected to have a capacity of handling around six million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) of containers and a significant volume of liquid and dry bulk uncontainerized cargoes.
The port has three terminals consisting of the container terminal, the liquid terminal and the dry bulk terminal.
The container terminal has an initial draft of 14 metres, with the potential for further dredging to 16.5 metres to enable it to handle 2.5 million 20-foot standard containers per year.
The liquid cargo terminal is expected to handle vessels up to 45,000 DWT (deadweight tonnage) and can expand to reach a capacity of 160,000 DWT. Liquids (like petrol or diesel) are handled at a tank farm near the port. The docking area is equipped with loading arms. It is also connected by pipelines along the breakwater, while the bulk terminal is situated on the west side of the container terminal. The available quay length of 300m can accommodate a Panamax class vessel (75,000 DWT). Bulk products are brought to storage areas, such as silos and warehouses, via covered conveyor systems. The bulk terminal capacity is around four million tonnes of dry bulk annually.
The Lekki Deep Seaport, which is expected to be completed before the end of the year, would create about 170,000 jobs to boost Nigeria’s economy.
This is as the project is expected to bring revenues of about $201 billion (about N83.5 trillion) to federal and state governments through taxes, royalties and duties as well as an aggregate impact of $361 billion in 45 years upon the commencement of operations.
The commencement of operations at the port is also expected to save the country an estimated N130 billion yearly which the country loses due to cargo diversion.
Most of Nigeria’s cargoes have had to be shipped either to the ports in Lome, Togo or Abidjan in Cote D’Ivoire before being trans-shipped to Apapa or Tin-Can with smaller vessels.
With a depth of about 10.5 metres, the Apapa Port, due to its shallow draft, cannot accommodate large ships that call at its neighbouring ports, thereby losing out on many cargoes to these ports.
According to findings, the draught level of Togo is 15.5 metres, Benin Republic has 15 metres, Ghana is close to 19 metres while Cameroon has 16 metres.
According to a report by the United Nations (UN), Togo overtook Nigeria to become the leading port in West Africa.
Togo recorded 1,725,520 twenty-foot equivalents (TUEs) cargo throughput in 2020 while Nigeria recorded 1,528,520 TUEs in the same year, thereby losing over 196,750 TUEs or 30% of container traffic to Lome port.
This is a huge loss considering that over 70 per cent of containers shipped to West and Central Africa are destined for Nigerian markets.
In the same vein, land-locked countries such as Chad and the Republic of Niger, which, hitherto were using Nigeria’s ports as transit points for their cargoes have diverted to Ghana, Togo, Benin Republic, Cote d’Ivoire and Cameroon.
The multi-purpose, deep sea port in the Lagos Free Zone is expected to address these challenges and position Nigeria as the hub of the maritime sector in West and Central Africa.
Alluding to this, President Muhammadu Buhari said the country’s maritime and aquatic resources are critical to the livelihood of Nigerians, and the government will spare no effort in successfully harnessing the potential of the sector.
Buhari, who commended the successful berthing of the first ship at Lekki Deep Sea Port, said that his approval of four new seaports in the country, including the Lekki Deep Sea port, was hinged on growing the economy.
According to him, the decision is also aimed at creating massive job opportunities, foreign investment inflows and trade facilitation.
The Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mohammed Bello Koko, described the Lekki Deep Seaport, which is regarded as the deepest seaport in West Africa, 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 NPA boss, who couldn’t hide his joy at the arrival of the equipment at the port, stressed that the authority will continue to support all investments targeted at enhancing operations, while assuring that Lekki Deep Sea Port is set to redefine the West African regional deep seaports with Nigeria as hub.
Bello Koko, who thanked President Muhammadu Buhari and the Federal Ministry of Transportation for the tremendous backing given to the NPA, in relation to the development of the Lekki Deep Sea Port, said it will be the first fully automated port at take-off.
He said the authority will continue to encourage and drive port automation across subsectors of the industry, even as he applauded the Lekki Free Trade Zone and other development partners.
The Chairman of LFTZ, Abiodun Dabiri, expressed delight with the delivery of the ports handling equipment, noting that their arrival has re-echoed its projection to commence operations before the end of the year.
However, there are fears that the gains of the Lekki Deep Seaport might become a nightmare to the residents of the area.
Stakeholders are afraid that if the road network in the area is not urgently addressed, the harrowing traffic gridlock experienced at Apapa might be child’s play.
Apart from the port, the Lekki Free Zone is also home to Africa’s biggest oil refinery and the world’s biggest single-train facility, 650,000 barrels per day Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, had promised the construction of a six-lane road that will link the Lekki Deep Seaport to Shagamu in Ogun State.
“A six-lane road will be constructed to link Lekki Deep Seaport to Shagamu and other locations along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. This will take care of evacuation of cargo from the port to other parts of the country,” he had said in May but there is little on ground to be optimistic about.
The former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, had also said if the owners of the Lekki Deep Sea Port are willing to invest in the $11.5bn Lagos to Calabar coastal rail project, the line can be diverted to their facility through Epe.
From Abiodun Alade & Eugene Agha, Lagos
