By Oluyinka Onigbinde
The Chairman of BUA Group, Abdul Samad Rabiu, has disclosed that the company is investing about $85 million in the expansion of its port facility in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, as part of efforts to strengthen its logistics infrastructure and support the growing volume of raw materials expected to move through Nigeria’s eastern maritime corridor.
Rabiu made the disclosure during a visit to the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Abubakar Dantsoho, where he expressed appreciation to the NPA management for its support and briefed the authority on the progress of the expansion of BUA’s port and terminal facilities in Port Harcourt.
According to him, the investment, which is already at an advanced stage, will provide approximately 600 metres of seaside frontage, significantly increasing the company’s capacity to receive and handle vessels and cargoes required for its expanding manufacturing operations.
He explained that the expansion had become necessary as BUA continues to grow its operations across several sectors, particularly food processing, with the company projecting that more than two million tonnes of products and raw materials could be imported annually through Port Harcourt when the expansion is completed next year.
Rabiu said the projected volume would require a dedicated and efficient terminal capable of handling the vessels and cargoes associated with the company’s growing operations.
“By the time we are done with the expansion, inshallah, next year, we’ll be having almost over two million tons of products being imported as raw materials to Port Harcourt, and for that we need a terminal, we need a facility,” he said.
He stressed that an efficient port system was critical to the operations of BUA, particularly given the nature of its businesses, which include sugar refining, flour milling, pasta and noodles production and edible oils, among others.
According to him, the projected cargo volume could translate into approximately six to seven vessels entering the port every month, making an efficient and properly developed terminal essential to sustaining the company’s supply chain.
Rabiu said the investment in Port Harcourt was also part of BUA’s broader expansion strategy across cement, food, mining and infrastructure, stressing that efficient maritime and logistics infrastructure was critical to the success of the company’s investments.
The BUA chairman also called attention to the need for greater development of Nigeria’s port infrastructure, particularly outside Lagos, noting that the country’s economic size required a more robust and geographically diversified port system.
He commended the NPA management for what he described as its competence, dedication and support for private-sector investment in the maritime sector, while thanking President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for appointing what he described as a competent and dedicated management team at the authority.
Rabiu recalled that the acquisition of the Port Harcourt terminal had at one point been revoked, expressing satisfaction that the facility was now being expanded with the support and cooperation of the NPA management.
He said the development demonstrated the importance of government-private sector collaboration in building infrastructure capable of supporting industrial growth.
Responding, the NPA Managing Director, Abubakar Dantsoho, described Rabiu as a major stakeholder in Nigeria’s maritime sector and assured BUA of the authority’s continued support for the expansion.
Dantsoho said the NPA was particularly interested in supporting investments that would increase cargo volumes, improve utilisation of the eastern ports and strengthen Nigeria’s position as a major maritime hub in West Africa.
He noted that BUA had already made substantial investments in Lagos and was now extending its investment footprint to Port Harcourt, describing the development as important to achieving a more balanced port system in the country.
According to him, increased cargo volumes through Port Harcourt would create opportunities for higher import and export activities, generate more economic value and contribute to increased foreign exchange earnings.
“Now we know that he has invested a lot in Lagos. Now he’s investing also a lot in Port Harcourt. So in that way, our volumes will increase, which means that even if we are talking about exporting, we are exporting more. If we are talking about importing, we can import more. And by so doing, now we are going to make more value. That’s money from those transactions,” Dantsoho said.
The NPA boss said the authority’s strategy was to collaborate with major stakeholders and other players across the maritime value chain to improve the efficiency and competitiveness of Nigerian ports.
He said the BUA investment was expected to significantly increase cargo volumes passing through the Port Harcourt port system, adding that the growth in traffic would translate into greater economic value and revenue for the country.
Dantsoho said the NPA was committed to ensuring that Nigerian ports became more competitive and increasingly positioned to serve industries operating across the country.
He linked the BUA investment to the authority’s broader drive to develop smart, efficient and globally competitive ports, stressing that such an objective could not be achieved without sustained collaboration with major investors.
The NPA managing director also referenced recent international assessments involving S&P Global and the World Bank, which, according to him, recognised Nigerian ports, particularly Tin Can Island and Apapa, among the world’s most improved ports.
He said the recognition demonstrated that reforms and investments in the Nigerian port system were beginning to produce measurable results.
Dantsoho stressed that the development of Nigeria’s port system could not be achieved by the NPA alone, noting that continuous engagement between the authority and port users remained critical.
“We know that we have to come to them. They know that they have to come to us. This is something that must happen for us to make any progress. And we are achieving that, so give God the glory,” he said.
The Port Harcourt expansion is expected to provide BUA with greater capacity to manage the maritime logistics component of its manufacturing operations while strengthening the role of the eastern ports in Nigeria’s cargo distribution network.
With BUA projecting more than two million tonnes of raw materials and products through Port Harcourt annually after the expansion, the investment could significantly increase cargo traffic through the eastern maritime corridor and boost the commercial relevance of the port.
The project is also expected to support efforts by the Federal Government and the NPA to promote greater utilisation of Nigeria’s eastern ports and reduce excessive concentration of cargo traffic around the Lagos port corridor.
For BUA, the $85 million investment represents a strategic extension of its industrial expansion programme, while for the NPA, the project offers an opportunity to attract higher cargo volumes, increase port utilisation and deepen private-sector participation in port infrastructure development.
With the expansion expected to provide about 600 metres of seaside frontage, the project is set to become a significant private-sector investment in Nigeria’s eastern port infrastructure as BUA moves towards handling millions of tonnes of cargo through Port Harcourt.
