Gbenga Kuye, managing director, Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA), has described the proposed $1.4 billion Lekki deep seaport as a multi-purpose seaport that will support the growing volume of international trade across Nigeria and the entire West African region.
Kuye, who made this disclosure during a working trip to South Korea and Singapore, last week for the inspection of the ongoing construction work of Total Upstream Nigeria’s Egina Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) Unit, at the Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) Shipyard, also said that at completion, Lekki deep seaport would be one of the most modern in the world, in a statement signed by Richard Obianu, head, corporate communications of NEPZA.
According the Kuye, NEPZA is committed to the development of the Lekki deep seaport, located at the heart of the Lagos Free Trade Zone. The construction of the port, he said, will have a positive multiplier effect on the development of the various Free Trade Zones and enterprises in the Lekki area of Lagos, even as he expressed satisfaction with the overall progress so far of the project.
The NEPZA boss, who was accompanied by the acting high commissioner of Nigeria to Singapore, Zainab Tani Zakari-Awami, visited the headquarters of Tolaram Group, promoter of the Lekki seep seaport, to assess progress on the development of the port project.
The Tolaram Group described the visit of the NEPZA managing director to Singapore as a huge success, noting that it reinforced the commitment by International Enterprise Singapore (IES) to accelerate its investment and development activities in Nigeria, with the ultimate goal of contributing to the Federal Government’s efforts to industrialize and diversify Nigeria’s economy.
The meeting at Tolaram headquarters was to discuss plans and timelines for the commencement of construction of the seaport.
Recall that Tolaram Group, the developer of the Lekki Deep Seaport, said late last year that it is finalising discussions with the lenders backing the port project to have access to 100 percent of the fund needed to execute it.
Also, the port project is jointly financed by a consortium of six banks, which include the African Development Bank (AFDB), the European Investment Bank (EIB), Standard Chartered Bank (SCB), RMB, Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) and Standard Bank.
The Lekki deep seaport is jointly owned and developed by the Tolaram Group, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Lagos State Government as equity investors. Tolaram has the concession to build and operate the port for 45 years.
The China Harbour Engineering Company, the world’s biggest marine engineering company, was appointed as the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contractor to oversee the design, construction and commissioning of the port project, under the supervision of an American project management consultant known as Louis Berger Group.
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