Nigeria, others to invest N1.22trn on ports’ expansion

Nigeria, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire are investing a total of $6,100,000,400 (N1.22 trillion) on ports expansion as the volume of imports to West Africa surge. New Telegraph learnt that Nigeria accounts for 70 per cent of the total imports coming into this region.

As a result of the steady increase of trade in the area, the existing capacity of their ports can no longer accommodate the cargo throughput at the various ports. These has necessitated the expansion of ports in West Africa. While the Lekki Port construction is put at $1.5 billion in Nigeria, sea reclamation, channel dredging and port expansion will gulp $150 million, $260 million and $2.1 billion respectively in Ghana.

Also, $2.5 billion will be spent on Abidjan port expansion and dredging in Cote d’Ivoie. Data by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) for the year 2014 revealed that a cargo throughput of 86,603,903 metric tons of cargo was recorded, indicating an increase of 12.646 per cent over the 2013 figure of 76,886,997 metric tons.

Also, the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority recorded 19.4 million tons of cargo, comprising 4.4 million tons of exports, 15 million tons of imports and trans-shipments in Tema and Takoradi ports in 2012. According to data from the Ghana Shippers’ Authority (GSA), the figure was an eight per cent rise over the 2011 total, with imports rising by 9.7 per cent and exports up by over four per cent in 2013. In Nigeria, Toleram group is leading the development of $1.5 billion Lekki Port project with 60 per cent; NPA – 20 per cent and 20 per cent equity for the Lagos State government.

The Lekki Port, sitting on 90 hectares of land, is billed to become operational in the third quarter of 2016, and it has Lagos State government and NPA as shareholders in the project. When completed, it is envisaged that Lekki Port Container Terminal alone will have a handling capacity of 2.5 million Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) with a quay length of 1,200 metres.

This, it is believed, would ease the over stretched ports at the Lagos and Tincan Island. Also in Ghana, it was revealed that the country was reclaiming up to 130,966 acres of land from the sea for the construction of port facilities at the Takoradi Port under a $150 million contract by China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd. (CHEC). The ports in Ghana are struggling to keep up with the demands of the expanding economy, which are being fuelled by the rapidly developing energy industry and increasing domestic consumption.

An additional 247 acres will be dredged from the Takoradi Port access channel as part of a separate $260 million contract by Jan De Nul to construct additional berthing space. According to Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), the country would reclaim about 988 acres to implement the $2.1 billion Tema Port expansion project in the next six years.

The Phase 1 of the project is billed to be completed within 30 months. Also in Côte d’Ivoire, the $2.5 billion expansion of Abidjan port is continuing under a contract from CHEC. The project includes construction of a second container terminal, roll-on, roll-off terminal, grain terminal, fishing pier and expansion of the Vridi Canal to enable large ships to dock.