The Ogun State Government and global terminal operator DP World signed Memoranda of Understanding in Paris on September 24 to develop the Gateway Deep Sea Port and the Ogun State Blue Marine Special Economic Zone, a project expected to attract more than $7 billion in initial investment. President Bola Tinubu witnessed the signing, alongside Minister of Marine and Blue Economy Adegboyega Oyetola and Nigerian Ports Authority Director-General Abubakar Dantsoho. The port is planned for Ogun Waterside and will feature a four-kilometre berth and 18-metre natural draft, allowing it to accommodate larger, deeper-draft vessels while easing pressure on the congested Lagos port corridor. The integrated special economic zone will span 10,000 hectares, and the projects are projected to create more than 50,000 direct jobs once fully developed, with Tinubu noting they would also anchor a broader strategic corridor connecting to the planned Nigerian Navy Operating Base and the OK LNG Project.
Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun said construction on the port is set to begin in November, days after the signing ceremony. The announcement coincided with a separate move by DP World to deepen its footprint in Nigeria’s logistics sector, with Tropical General Investments Group moving to acquire UAC of Nigeria’s 43 percent stake in DP World’s Nigerian logistics business, leaving DP World as majority shareholder. Officials have framed the port and economic zone as a public-private partnership funded through DP World and its financial partners’ own equity and capital raising rather than federal or state debt, positioning Nigeria to serve as a logistics gateway for the African Continental Free Trade Area’s market of roughly 1.4 billion people.
Source: Ecofin Agency — https://www.ecofinagency.com/news-infrastructures/2609-59264-nigeria-7bln-ogun-port-project-adds-to-growing-deep-sea-capacity-around-lagos
Tags: Nigeria, DP World, West Africa, Port Development
