‘Seun Ibukun-Oni, Abuja

 

Daily Courier – The Federal and the Lagos State governments could earn over $4.5 billion annually or $201 billion in 45 years from the Lekki Deep Sea.

Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the port would be a big boost to Nigeria in its quest to take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).

He added that the port – a build- own- operate and transfer project,  would be a pacesetter and an economic game-changer.

The minister spoke while on inspection of the $1.53 billion facility.

His words: “I call it a game-changer because of the impact it will have on the nation’s economy and the jobs it will create.

“The investment is huge: $1.53 billion on fixed assets and $800 million on construction,” he said.

Mohammed said when fully operational, the deep seaport “will create 169,972 jobs and bring revenues totaling $201 billion to the Lagos State and Federal Governments through taxes, royalties and duties.”

”The direct and induced business revenue impact is estimated at $158 billion in addition to a qualitative impact on the manufacturing, trade and commercial services sector

“The aggregate impact has been put at $361 billion in 45 years, which will be over 200 times the cost of building it,” he added.

Mohammed spoke during a tour of the $1.53billion facility.

Accompanied by heads of parastatals under the Ministry of Transportation, Mohammed said he was happy with the quality of work done.

Mohammed  said: “When it begins operation in the last quarter of this year, it will make it possible for Nigeria to regain the maritime business that was lost to ports in Togo, Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana.

“It is also a big boost to Nigeria in its quest to take advantage of the implementation of the AfCFTA.

“A major advantage we have to leverage is transhipment. With this port, Nigeria will become a transhipment hub and the revenue we are currently losing to our neighbouring countries will come here. That’s big!”

Phase one of the project, according to Mohammed, has reached an 89 per cent completion stage, assuring that it will hit the 100 per cent mark in September.

“The facilities here are first-class. We have seven ships to shore cranes and 21 RTG cranes. No port in Nigeria currency has this.

“The excellent equipment is why this port can do 18,000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit), which is more than four times the number that can currently be handled by our other ports.

“The project is self-sufficient in required electricity. It is now ready to generate up to 10 Mega Watts and the total capacity is 16 megawatts.”

Managing Director of the Port, Mr Du Ruogang, said it would be one of the most modern in West Africa, offering enormous support to the burgeoning commercial operations across Nigeria and the entire region.

He said multiple modern cargo evacuation mechanisms would be installed to forestall congestion and other challenges being experienced in other ports.

The Lekki Deep Sea Port covers a land area of 90 hectares, which makes it the largest in  West Africa.