Maersk to inject US$ 600 million into Nigeria’s port infrastructure

Danish shipping giant Maersk is set to inject US$ 600 million into Nigeria’s seaport infrastructure, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu announced.

The agreement was made on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum Special Meeting on Global Collaboration, Growth, and Energy for Development in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The investment aims to expand existing port infrastructure to accommodate more container shipping services, enhancing trade facilitation and modernizing port processes across the eastern and western seaports.

In his remarks, President Tinubu highlighted the significance of the investment in supporting Nigeria’s port modernization efforts and port process automation. He emphasized the administration’s implementation of the national single window project, aimed at enhancing trade facilitation, easing import/export flow, reducing corruption, and improving efficiency and transparency at Nigerian ports.

“We appreciate your business and the contribution you have made and continue to make to our country’s economy over time. We do not take our partners for granted. A bet on Nigeria is a winning bet. It is also a bet that rewards beyond what is obtainable elsewhere,” President Tinubu said.

“More investment opportunities are available, and my government has worked on various reforms to encourage investment. We need to encourage more opportunities for revenue expansion and minimize trans-shipments from larger ships to smaller ships.”

The investment will complement the country’s ongoing investment of US$ 1 billion into seaport reconstruction.

Read more: Nigerian Ports Authority readies massive investment plan

Speaking on the investment Chairman of A.P. Moller-Maersk Robert Maersk Uggla said that his company has already invested over US$ 2 billion in Nigerian ports and linked activities.

“We have seen a significant opportunity for Nigeria to cater for larger container ships. Historically, most of the West African coasts are already served by smaller ships. Currently, we see an opportunity to deploy larger ships to Nigeria.To achieve this, we need to expand port infrastructure, especially in Lagos, where we need a bigger hub for logistics services. The growth potential is hard to quantify,” Uggla said, adding that in his view Nigeria should have the best and biggest ports since it is the most populous country in Africa.

“We believe in Nigeria, and we will invest US$ 600 million in existing facilities and make the ports accommodating for bigger ships.”