The Lekki Port LFTZ Enterprise Limited (LPLEL) said on Wednesday that it has received a total of $221,047,248 as equity funding from China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), one of the shareholders in seaport project, currently under construction at the Lagos Free Trade Zone, Ibeju-Lekki.
“I am pleased to confirm that Lekki Port has received the $221,047,248 equity funding from China Harbour Engineering Company. The payment was received on Monday, 30th March 2020,” Biodun Dabiri, chairman of Lekki Port LFTZ Enterprise Limited, said in Lagos at the end of a board meeting held on Tuesday via teleconferencing, according to a statement issued on Wednesday.
Dabiri said the equity injection, coming at a time when the world is battling the coronavirus pandemic shows CHEC’s deep commitment to the success of the port project, which would greatly contribute to fast-tracking the timely delivery of the project and bringing about economic prosperity to Nigeria as a whole.
This is coming barely five months after the Lekki Port LFTZ Enterprise Limited sealed a deal in Lagos in October 2019 with the China Development Bank (CDB) for the funding of the Lekki Deep Seaport project to the tune of $629 million.
The signing of facility loan agreement was then seen as a major step towards the port project’s financial closure, which indicated that the project would move to the construction stage, and it was expected to be delivered in 2021.
Lekki Deep Seaport, a multi-purpose port that is being built at the heart of the Lagos Free Trade Zone, will be one of the most modern ports, supporting the growing trade across Nigeria and the entire West African region.
The shareholders of the project are the Nigerian Ports Authority, the Lagos State Government, China Harbour Engineering and Tolaram Group.
At completion, Lekki Port would consist of three container berths that would receive the first generation container ships with the ability to accommodate 1.2 million Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) of containers in the first phase.
Dabiri also announced the appointment of Du Ruogang as the new chief executive officer for Lekki Port LFTZ Enterprise Limited (LPLEL) with immediate effect.
He said Ruogang is expected to oversee the overall business planning, development and management of the company.
Ruogang, while accepting the appointment, said he would collaborate with all key stakeholders including the lenders, insurers, and EPC contractor as well as government regulators to ensure the smooth and successful development of Lekki Port.
Ruogang has robust experience in port investment, financing and operation and holds double bachelors in Engineering Management and Industrial Design from Tianjin University, China. He has been with CHEC since 2007.
Other directors appointed to the board of Lekki Port are Sajen Aswani, Wu Di, Lu Yunpeng and Xu Huajiang, while Mohan Vaswani and Joseph Sanusi resigned their positions on the board.
Other executives appointed by the company include Cai Pingzhen who assumes the position of chief financial officer, Steven Heukelom as chief technical officer, and Binay Saraf as deputy chief financial officer.
AMAKA ANAGOR-EWUZIE
