Proposed Badagry port to promote large vessel repair business

PROMOTERS of the Badagry Dockyard Limited have said that the multi-billion dollar project is capable of operating in consonance with globally, acceptable standard in ship building, repairs, and construction yard to make a difference in Nigeria and Africa.

The projection, according to Project Director BSMEC, Laolu Saraki, was reinforced by the Lagos roadshow last year which established a credible roadmap for the project.

Indeed, Global Director Shipyard Royal Haskoning, Adrian Arnold is of the opinion that the new dockyard will require a harbour to create an area of tranquil water necessary for shipyard operations, and provide a protected length of marine access to enable vessels to enter the harbour safely.

The Badagry Port has been sited at the optimum location along the coast with respect to bathymetry and wave climate.

He further said that for the sizes of vessels visiting the dockyard, the protected access will be of the order of 1,500 metres long to a turning circle about 600 metres in diameter.

Thus, the dockyard will need breakwaters and a dredged channel to form a harbour of the scale planned for the Port.

Senior Vice President Hyundai Heavy Industries, (the world’s No1 shipbuilder with 15 per cent market share of the global shipbuilding industry) A.Y,Kim and Y.S. Kang of Samsung of which has an unbeatable leadership in the high-tech, ”HHI and SHI are proud to be one of the promoters of the project for the development of a world class ship repair and engineering facility in Nigeria.”

Some analysts put the cost of the Badagry Port breakwaters and channel currently estimated to be some $400 million. Therefore the cost of a greenfield harbour in sub-optimal conditions will be of the order of perhaps $450 million.

In Royal Haskoning’s LNG Shipyard feasibility study business plan, an allowance was made for $150million capital expenditute contribution to the Badagry Port breakwaters to cover the cost of the main breakwater modifications attributable to the shipyard.

The land area of the shipyard in the feasibility study base case was 72 hectares which ideally for Badagry Dockyard’s plans would be increased to about 110 to 120 hectares.

Saraki further explained that for Badagry Dockyard to be able to support a breakwater CAPEX of three times that in the business plan, the revenues would have to triple and the land required to achieve would be commensurately greater up to perhaps 300 ha.

The dredged channel depth planned by Badagry Port will enable the shipyard to attract deeper draft higher premium vessels than any other location in Nigeria. The cost of providing and maintaining this depth of channel purely for a shipyard at a greenfield site would be onerous.

“APMT intention as the landlord in the Badagry Port is to allow the tenants to develop their sites on a standalone basis. This means that for services and utilities the tenants will be free to make their own arrangements on a market driven basis without an obligation to purchase from the landlord.