Nigeria Approves Upgrade of 4 Ports, Six Deep-Water Port Projects Advance in Parallel

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 28, Nigeria's Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, stated that the federal government has approved comprehensive modernization of four ports outside Lagos, involving Onne Port and Rivers Port in Rivers State, Delta Port in Delta State, and Calabar Port in Cross River State. The related works will focus on upgrading wharves, cargo handling, and port infrastructure, with the goal of expanding throughput capacity and shortening vessel turnaround time. Previously, the modernization of Lagos's Apapa Port and Tin Can Island Port had also been approved.

These projects did not begin preliminary work only on September 28. Public information shows that the modernization procurement procedures for ports such as Warri, Port Harcourt, Onne, and Calabar had already entered the advancement stage in April this year. This latest disclosure further confirms that Nigeria's existing port upgrades have expanded from the Lagos port cluster to ports in the Niger Delta and the southeastern coast.

At the same time, Nigeria is advancing six deep-water port projects, namely Ibom in Akwa Ibom State, Bakassi in Cross River State, Agge in Bayelsa State, Gateway in Ogun State, Ondo in Ondo State, and Bonny in Rivers State. These projects are not all at the same stage; among them, the Bakassi and Ondo deep-water ports received federal approval in December 2025, while the remaining projects are respectively at the stages of approval, development, or cooperative advancement.

Currently, the fastest-advancing project is Gateway Deep Seaport. On September 24, the Ogun State Government and DP World signed a memorandum of understanding in Paris to cooperate on developing Gateway Deep Seaport and the Ogun State Blue Marine Special Economic Zone. According to the Nigerian Presidency, the proposed port is located in Ogun Waterside, planned with approximately 4 kilometers of berth shoreline, a designed water depth of 18 meters, and an initial investment scale of more than US$7 billion for the port and supporting economic zone.

The Gateway project will also form a landside collection and distribution connection with the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway. According to Presidency materials, the Ogun State section of the highway is about 28 kilometers long, is planned for completion by the end of 2026, and will connect the port, the economic zone, Lagos, and Nigeria's inland markets. The relevant area is also planned to form an industrial cluster with a naval base, shipyard, and the OK LNG project.

Nigeria's current port expansion has formed two project lines advancing in parallel: one is the renovation of existing port facilities, including Apapa, Tin Can Island, and the four regional ports confirmed this time; the other is a newly built deep-water port system. The Gateway project has already entered the stage of signing a development cooperation agreement between the government and an international port operator, while other deep-water ports still need to advance separately according to their respective approval and financing schedules.