Nigeria stakes its economic future on a port financed by China.

ABUJA: President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria has celebrated the completion of a $1.5 billion deep seaport built by China in the commercial centre of Lagos, which officials believe will help the struggling economy of the West African country thrive.

According to Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the Lekki Deep Sea Port, one of the largest in West Africa, would relieve cargo congestion that costs the city’s economy billions of dollars each year while also generating hundreds of thousands of employment.

The Nigerian government, Lagos state, Singapore’s Tolaram Group, and the state-owned China Harbor Engineering Company will run the port as a joint venture. The port’s container terminal can accommodate at least 2.5 million 20-foot standard containers annually. 75% of the project is owned by the two foreign corporations.

Nigeria is the biggest economy in Africa, but due to inadequate infrastructure and bad management, development has remained stagnant for many years. Although the country has six significant seaports, more than 80% of imports are handled by only two of the Lagos ports, where traffic congestion has resulted in a significant revenue loss since cargoes are often redirected to other West African countries.

With estimated economic advantages of more than $360 billion, the authorities claim the new deep seaport on the eastern fringe of Lagos will shift traffic from clogged ports and shore up profits.

However, experts contend that if current obstacles are not eliminated, such as establishing links between ports and interior locations, it would only make a “minimum effect.”

According to Ayotunde Abiodun, an economic expert with the Lagos-based SBM Intelligence business, “There is weak and underinvested rail network connection, and the roads are not in top shape.” Additionally, the port’s process automation has to be given top priority.

The Lagos governor said that ships docking at the port “may be up to four times the size of boats that now berth at both Tin Can and Apapa ports,” the other two ports in Lagos, once the port starts to function with the first commercial vessel coming Sunday.

According to Cui Jianchun, the Chinese ambassador to Nigeria, the project will stimulate economic growth across the nation, not only in Lagos.
This is the nation’s economic engine, according to Jianchun, not only for the governor of Lagos but also for the Federal Republic of Nigeria. “This is investment equity. This is an investment, not a loan or other kind of borrowing.

Nigeria’s economy is mostly driven by commerce and agriculture, but chronic insecurity in the agriculturally prosperous north, falling foreign direct investments, and pervasive corruption have hindered economic development amid falling crude oil prices.

In order to boost the economy via key projects, the government has resorted to foreign lenders and financiers, including China, whose influence can be seen on some of Nigeria’s most vital infrastructure, such as rail networks and airport terminals.

According to expert Abiodun, the port offers “immense potential” for Nigeria’s economy, which is struggling with a 33% unemployment rate and a failing economy. However, he stressed that industry participants must cooperate in order for this to happen.

According to Abiodun, “there has to be interagency involvement on key problems impacting industry operators” in the marine sector. The fact that these organisations are more concerned with generating income than providing high-quality services is a more worrying problem. This must be altered.