A French Shipping Company and leading player in the Nigerian shipping sector, CMA CGM, has acquired a 25 per cent stake in the bourgeoning Lekki Deep sea port in Lagos.
It also yesterday expressed willingness to develop the proposed Lekki deepsea port in Lagos with high degree of green technology.
Chief Operating Officer of CMA CGM, Mr Marc Riondel, said this while presenting the “Lekki Terminal General Project” to a group of Nigerian journalists who are on study tour of the company’s headquarters in Marseille, South France.
A French Shipping Company and leading player in the Nigerian shipping sector, CMA CGM, has acquired a 25 per cent stake in the bourgeoning Lekki Deep sea port in Lagos.
It also yesterday expressed willingness to develop the proposed Lekki deepsea port in Lagos with high degree of green technology.
Chief Operating Officer of CMA CGM, Mr Marc Riondel, said this while presenting the “Lekki Terminal General Project” to a group of Nigerian journalists who are on study tour of the company’s headquarters in Marseille, South France.
He explained that CMACGM had in January signed an agreement with the International Container Terminal Services LFTS Enterprise for 25 per cent stake in the Lekki Container Terminal.
The master concessionaire of Lekki Port zone, LPLE, is to provide the terminal infrastructure and also responsible for maritime infrastructure, marine services and maintenance dredging.
Riondel said the port would be developed with green technology and infrastructure that would reduce congestion and pollution.
“Like many new port projects in the World, the Lekki port is to be located outside the main city of Lagos, enjoying access and less congestion than existing terminals.
“The location of the port outside will protect the environment and allow reduction in carbon dioxide and noise pollutions.
According to him, the terminal is expected to directly employ between 1000 and 2000 persons and indirectly employ 1000 persons at full capacity
“The project, which is estimated to cost about $1.7 billion dollars, will be developed in stages.
With a quay of 1200metres, this modern facility, which is expected to be fully operational in 2016, will have an annual capacity of 2.5 million TEU, making it the largest single terminal in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Apart from CMA CGM, another investor; ICTSI will invest in excess of USD 225 million to provide cargo handling equipment and related IT infrastructure. This investment forms part of the USD 1.4 billion being invested in the entire port development.
The Chairman of ICTSI; Mr. Enrique K. Razon Jr said during the recent concession signing ceremony that, “this new concession will reinforce ICTSI’s presence in Africa and sets the standard for infrastructure developments in Africa.
The ceremony hosted by Tolaram Group in Singapore was also attended by Mr. Mohan K. Vaswani, the Chairman of Tolaram Group.
”We anticipate that the demand at our facility will go beyond the expected 2.5 million TEU. We are designing the port to allow for expansion to serve that excess demand in a short span of time upon completion,” said Mr. Mohan K. Vaswani.
“The multiplier effect of the Tolaram Port@Lekki on the potential GDP of Nigeria will be significant. The infrastructure alone will spur substantial growth prospects for the country and we are happy to be a part of this transformation,” added Mr. Vaswani.
Also speaking, the managing director, NPA, Malam Habib Abdulahi expressed satisfaction at the extent of work.
"I am very satisfied with the development phase of this important project and will render all the support needed to ensure smooth take off,"
"NPA, as partners in the project are delighted to see the signing of this agreement as it is a commitment of the promoters and operators to the success of the port. The Port once commissioned will be a catalyst for economic growth in Nigeria”, added Abdullahi.
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