DP World and Nigeria’s Ogun State have signed agreements to develop a new deep-sea port and a special economic zone under a proposed investment program valued at more than US$7 billion.
The agreements cover the proposed Gateway Deep Sea Port at Ogun Waterside and a 10,000-hectare Blue Marine Special Economic Zone.
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu and Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun witnessed the signing.
Ogun State sits north of Lagos, while its Atlantic coastline lies in the Ogun Waterside area in the south-east of the state. The proposed port will sit around the Olokola and Ogun Waterside coastal area, close to the Ondo State border and east of the Lagos-Benin border.
The location will place the port outside the busy Lagos port complex while keeping it close to the Lagos and southwestern Nigerian market.
The proposed port will have a 4,000-meter quay and an 18-meter draught, giving Nigeria another deep-water gateway outside Lagos.
The project aims to handle some of the cargo currently moving through Apapa and Tin Can Island ports while providing additional capacity for growing maritime trade.
The port will connect to the proposed Blue Marine Special Economic Zone, which will support manufacturing, processing, logistics, and export activities. The maritime link will allow industries within the zone to receive imported goods and move finished products through the port.
The Ogun State Government estimates that the wider development could create more than 50,000 direct jobs when fully completed.
President Tinubu said the federal government would support the project by facilitating road, rail, and power infrastructure, as well as maritime security and regulatory support.
Transport links will play a key role in connecting the proposed port to Nigeria’s wider network. The project is expected to connect with the proposed Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, Gateway International Airport, and dry-port facilities.
The port will also sit near other planned developments, including the proposed Nigerian Navy Operating Base and Dockyard and the OK LNG project.
Ogun State plans to develop the project as an integrated port, logistics, and industrial corridor, with the deep-sea port serving as its main maritime gateway.
Governor Abiodun has compared the proposed development with DP World’s Jebel Ali model in Dubai, where a major port operates alongside industrial and free-zone facilities.
For DP World, the Ogun project would add another port and logistics development to its operations across Africa, where the company already operates major maritime and logistics facilities in countries including Egypt, Senegal, Tanzania, and Mozambique.
Source: africaports.co.za
