Ibekimi Oriamaja Reports.
According to Track News, the Lekki Deep Sea Port is expected to generate $562 billion in revenue for the federal government over the next 45 years.
The company’s top management made the announcement over the weekend at the Private Public Partnership Consultative Forum held at its corporate headquarters in the Lagos Free Trade Zone, Lekki-Expressway.
Laurence Smith, Chief Operating Officer, and Daniel Odibe, Head, Regulatory and Procurement, who spoke separately to some heads of key ministries and departments at the forum, expressed the company’s readiness to begin operations in the first quarter of 2023.
Smith expects the port to open in the first quarter of 2023, with construction completed by September of this year.
“Based on studies, we expect the port to have a total economic impact of $361 billion over 45 years, as well as generate approximately 170,000 jobs and another $201 billion in revenue to the federal and state governments in the form of taxes and royalties.” We anticipate a significant economic impact due to its location in a free trade zone that houses many manufacturing companies, trading and commercial services “Smith stated.
“The port has a built-own and transfer operations basis with the NPA for a 45-year period,” Odibe said, echoing similar sentiments. It will have three container berths and one dry port berth when finished. The ability to accommodate larger vessels is one of the advantages of having a larger deep sea port. Larger vessels have a significant cost advantage in shipping due to the operating costs for shipping lines. It saves money on transportation.
“In West Africa, we currently have larger ports in Tema, Ghana, Lome, and Abidjan.” As a result, because it lacks a large deep sea port, the country has been losing cargoes to these countries. As a result, the presence of Lekki Port will naturally attract cargo.”
When asked about the ownership structure of the port, Odibe stated, “China Harbour Engineering Company is the majority shareholder with 52 percent of the total shares, Tolaram, which also owns the LFTZ, has a 22.5 percent stake, the Federal Government through the NPA has a 5 percent stake, and Lagos State Government has a 20 percent stake.” As a result, they form a specialized vehicle to operate the port.”
Mr Michael Ohiani, the acting Director-General of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), who led the Public Private Partnership Units Consultative Forum (3PUCF) on a site tour of the Lekki Deep Sea Port, commented on the development, saying the MDAs wanted to see things for themselves. “They wanted to see the current state of the work and get firsthand information on what is going on.” The primary goal is to meet the September and December deadlines. The most important thing is that it is completed this year. The management of the Lekki Port has revealed that it is 94 percent complete, and we are very pleased with what we have seen “e seen.”
