The minister of transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has commended the increased pace of work on the construction of the Lekki Deep Seaport.
Amaechi, who gave the commendation in Lagos on Saturday, January 22, 2022, during an inspection of the port site in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, in the company of top government functionaries from the Federal Ministry of Transportation and heads of relevant agencies, also urged the promoters to double effort on the construction in order to complete the port and start operations ahead of schedule.
“I am happy that there has been huge progress from the last time we came here. This shows that when you set your mind on something, you can achieve it. The agreement was that we would commission by the last quarter of 2022, but if we double our effort on this project, we could commission by July or August, and that would be great,” he said.
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Speaking during the tour, Steven Heukelom, the chief technical officer of Lekki Port, explained that construction work on the project is on course and as scheduled.
He noted that dredging and reclamation works had reached 89.93 percent completion, the quay wall is now at 85.65 percent completion, the breakwater is at 79.66 percent completion while the landside infrastructure development stands at 67.82 percent completion.
According to him, this brings the total works carried out on the project to approximately 80 percent completion stage.
Heukelom also said that work has commenced on the marine services jetty, which the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) will use to carry out the marine services obligation.
He commended Mohammed Bello-Koko, the acting managing director of the NPA for the support and partnership in preparing the port to start operations.
On his part, Mohammed Bello-Koko reaffirmed the NPA’s readiness to provide marine services for the port operations.
He disclosed that NPA is procuring tug boats and other necessary infrastructure for the smooth take-off of the port.
Laurence Smith, the chief operating officer of Lekki Port, reaffirmed the company’s commitment to delivering the project by the fourth quarter of 2022.
He noted that the EPC Contractor, China Habour Engineering LFTZ Enterprise, is working day and night to make this commitment a reality.
Smith expressed confidence that the port, upon completion, would be a world-class port and would become a regional distribution and transshipment hub in Africa.
Lekki Port is being developed by Tolaram and China Harbour Engineering Company. The Lagos State Government and NPA are also shareholders in the project company. The Port is scheduled to start operations by the end of 2022.
