By Steve Agbota
Construction of the Lekki Deep Sea Port has reached almost 50 per cent 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.
This significant milestone of the completion of the core of the main breakwater was achieved on Thursday, April 29, 2021. The construction of the $1.5 billion seaport would be completed as scheduled with a targeted commercial operations date in Q4 2022.
The Managing Director, Lekki Port LFTZ Enterprise Limited, Mr. Du Ruogang, disclosed this while briefing the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Transportation, Dr. Magdalene Ajani, and other key stakeholders in the project including the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Hadiza Bala Usman; the Director-General/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Maritime Administrative and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Bashir Jamoh and the Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Shippers Council, Hassan Bello during the first quarterly monitoring visit by the Federal Ministry of Transportation to the project site on Saturday, May 1, 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.
Speaking during the visit, Ajani stated that it was heart-warming to note that the project is moving at a fast pace, assuring all the promoters and stakeholders that the Federal Government would play its part to ensure the smooth take-off of the Port come the last quarter of 2022.
Ajani noted that the progress of work since the initial visit of the ministry in November 2020 is impressive and that the Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Transportation would work out modalities of rail connectivity to the port for easy evacuation and transfer of cargo to the different parts of the country. She also promised to liaise with her counterpart at the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing on the issue of the road network at the corridor to prevent the issue of congestion.
