Contractor pledges to deliver $1.65b Lekki deep seaport in 41 months

ALL is now set for full construction activities to begin at the proposed Lekki Deep Seaport in Lagos State. Situated within Lagos Free Trade Zone (LFTZ) in the Ijeju-Lekki area of Lagos State, the construction work is scheduled to last for 41 months.

Already, Lekki Port LFTZ Enterprise (LPLE) has issued the Notice-to-Proceed to its Engineering Procurement Construction ( EPC) Contractor to commence full construction activities.

LFTZ at the weekend described the development as a major milestone “for the largest maritime project in the country”.

China Harbour Engineering LFTZ Enterprise (CHELE), a subsidiary of China Harbour Engineering Company, regarded as one of the largest maritime contractors in the world, is the EPC contractor for the project. According to facilitators of the project, total contract value for construction of all marine and landside infrastructure for Lekki Port is $792 million.

The total project cost is $1.65 billion. Scheduled to be operational in 2019, Lekki Port is expected to be “the deepest sea port in the Sub-Saharan Africa with a draft depth of 16.5 meters”.

Upon completion, the port facility, with its proposed state-of-the-art infrastructure, “would be able to handle Post-Panamax container vessels of up to 10,000 TEUs capacity.

The port will commence its operations with an annual throughput capacity of 1.5 million Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) and shall quickly ramp it up to 2.7 million TEUs. In addition, when completed, Lekki Port will be equipped to handle around 16.7 million MT liquid cargo and 4.0 million MT dry bulk cargo annually”.

According to its promoter, Lekki Port Project, in addition to solving the long-standing congestion problem at existing ports, “will create an enabling environment and spur massive investments along the Lagos Free Trade Zone corridor and will have a direct positive impact on the overall Nigerian economy.

When operational, Lekki Port will generate direct and induced employment for approximately 170,000 persons and will have an economic impact of $36lbillion over the concession period”.

The Managing Director of Lekki Port,  Haresh Aswani said: “This is going to be a game- changer and we are honoured to be part of this promise.

Once again, we thank the Federal Government of Nigeria and its agencies, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Lagos State Government for their support as we look forward to this exciting partnership. We especially acknowledge the unflinching support extended by the  Governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Raji Fashola”.

Explaining further, he said: “We would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate our EPC contractor—CHELE and our container terminal operator — ICTSI (international Container Terminal Services, Inc.), on achieving this significant milestone that pushes the Project from development phase into full construction phase.”

The Lagos State Governor, who was represented by Commissioner for Commerce & Industry, Mrs. Olusola Oworu,  expressed the state government commitment to partner with promoters of the  Lekki Port project.

Mrs. Oworu urged the promoters to continue to develop the project “at a rapid pace so that the port can become operational within the set time frame”, adding that the Lagos State Government will continue to do all that is within its power to ensure that the road infrastructure in the Lekki axis is developed and enhanced to accommodate the demands of the Port and other projects along the Lekki axis” The Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Alhaji Sanusi Lamido Ado Bayero who was also present at the event pledged the commitment of NPA to the success of the project.

He said: “As a Port Authority, we see potential for growth and strive to make it a reality at all times.

A port with a depth of 16.5metres will allow bigger vessels to berth and the port will enable our ports be enormously competitive due to economy of scale and will have significant positive macro economic impact on Nigeria in terms of employment, taxes and royalties.

“Therefore, as we began the consummation of our strategic alliance with the promoters of this project and look towards a bright future, we assure you that the Nigerian Ports Authority will not waver in its continued support for the project,” said Bayero Managing Director, China Harbour Engineering LFTZ Enterprise said Mr. Wang Zhichao,  was quoted as saying “We are so pleased to be the EPC Contractor of this new initiative at lekki.

The Lekki deep-sea port will be the largest seaport in Nigeria, and the projected high economic benefits will yield positive trends in the Nigerian economy.

This will make Nigeria a hub port in West Africa and the envy of the nations. We will be looking towards providing a first class construction management system and ensuring we have an experienced nucleus and effective team.”

Senior Vice President & Chief Executive Officer Africa Region, ICTSI Africa Pty Limited, Jens O. Floe, was quoted in a statement issued by the promoter as saying“We at ICTSI are very pleased with this latest development and the start of the construction.

This step will now, lead to the materialisation of this very promising project and we congratulate all involved stakeholders.

Lekki port will be pivotal for the Region and the container terminal will through superior connectivity and efficiency become the main gate way to the Nigerian import and export market.”

The statement explained that   ICTSI, a listed company on Philippine Stock Exchange, is “well regarded in the port industry as being one of the few truly independent private common user operators in the world.

ICTSI’s current portfolio consists of 29 marine terminal and ports, across 20 countries”.