Nigeria's maritime sector will in no distant time witness a major boost that will translate into rapid economic growth for the country.
This will follow the development of a state-of-the-art Lekki Port project, scheduled to be operational by the third quarter of 2016.
The port is to be located in the Lagos Free Trade Zone at the Lekki sub region.
This was made known in a statement to newsmen by the Managing Director of Lekki Port LFTZ Enterprise, Mr. Haresh Aswani, during the visit of the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, to ascertain the level of work at the site.
Aswani explained that the Lekki Port, conceptualised as a multi product industrial and logistics hub, would spread across 90 hectares of land and shall be built at an estimated cost of $1.55bn.
He further said the deep-sea port which would be located 65km east of Lagos Mainland shall become the gateway to West African region and would be one of the most efficient and modern maritime facilities.
"In addition to bridging the capacity deficit, Lekki Port will have significant positive macroeconomic impact estimated at $361bn over the entire concession period. It is expected to contribute more than $200bn to the government exchequer while also creating close to 163,000 new jobs in the economy. Furthermore, Lekki Port will spur the economic development around the Lekki sub-region and on a wider perspective, the whole of Lagos State through rapid industrialisation", he added.
In a bid to ensure smooth and efficient operations, Lekki Port has engaged the services of global consultants.
Aswani said, "Lekki Port has been conceptualised on the basis of a significant gap in projected demand and capacity, needed to be met in conveying goods to and from Nigeria.
"Lagos State Government's and Nigerian Ports Authority's involvement as shareholders in this project demonstrates their interest in the success of Lekki Port and their confidence in the Public-Private Partnership model to bridge the gaps in the infrastructure domain which is pivotal to overall growth of Nigerian economy."
