·Lekki Port: Core of Main Breakwater Completed—-MD
The Federal government says the Lekki Deep Seaport will be a significant game-changer in Nigeria’s Maritime economy with corresponding benefits to the West and Central sub-regions of Africa.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transportation, Dr Magdalene Ajani disclosed this in a statement by Anastasia Ogbonna, Assistant Director Press and Public Relations of the Ministry, in Abuja.
Ajani made this known when she led a Ministerial Team on a quarterly inspection of progress of work on the Lekki Deep Sea Port in Lagos.
According to her, the Port is designed to be the deepest port in West Africa.
The inspection comprised of an audio-visual briefing by the management of Lekki Port Enterprises, the contractors (China Harbour Engineering Co. Ltd) and the Project Managers (Louis Berger Intl.) as well as a physical inspection of the works on site.
Ajani said the developers were working assiduously to meet the deadline of fourth quarter 2022 for commencement of commercial operations as directed by the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi.
The permanent secretary was accompanied on the inspection by the Director, Maritme Services, Awal Suleiman, Director, Legal Services, Pius Oteh, Executive Secretary, Nigerian Shippers’ Council, Hassan Bello.
Others include the Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority, Hadiza Bala- Usman, Director General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Bashir Jamoh and other technical officers from the Ministry and the Agencies.
Meanwhile, the Managing Director, Lekki Port LFTZ Enterprise Limited, Mr. Du Ruogang said the port has reached almost 50 percent with the completion of the 1,909m long core of the main breakwater while work on the quay wall and landside infrastructure has reached advanced stages.
He told the delegation that, the significant milestone of the completion of the core of the main breakwater was achieved on Thursday, April 29, 2021.
Ruogang assured that the construction would be completed as scheduled with a targeted commercial operations date in Q4 2022. He affirmed that the container terminal operator – Lekki Freeport Terminal, a subsidiary of CGM/CMA is ready to commence operations once the construction is completed.
“We would like to appreciate the Federal Ministry of Transportation, Lagos State Government, and NPA as well as other stakeholders for the immense support towards the actualization of this world-class seaport, he said.
In her own remarks during the visit, the Managing Director, NPA, Hadiza Bala Usman said that NPA will play its part to ensure that the timeline set for the delivery is achieved, adding that efforts are being made to facilitate the deployment of all necessary infrastructure needed before commercial operations begin.
“To meet the timeline for the Port, we would deploy the control tower as well as the BTS and GDMS which are critical infrastructure needed for the take-off of the port operations. In addition, we have to begin the construction of the administrative block”, Usman said.
The Executive Secretary of NSC, Hassan Bello reaffirmed the significance of Lekki Port to the economic prosperity of Nigeria noting that when completed, the port would be transformational for the country, and indeed the West African maritime landscape. ,
