The Federal Government will need to invest about $7.2bn to complete two approved deep seaports across the country.
The projects are Ibom, Badagry Deep Seaports, according to The Punch.
The federal government granted $2.016 billion for the first phase of the $4.6 billion Ibom Deep Seaport, according to the Akwa Ibom State Government in December 2020.
This was disclosed in Uyo by the then Akwa-Ibom State Commissioner for Economic Development and IDSP, Akan Okon.
He stated that on December 16, 2020, the Federal Executive Council gave its approval for the first phase of the IDSP to be implemented.
He added that the port would help Akwa Ibom’s unemployment problems and allow the state to carry out programs aimed at reducing poverty and creating jobs.
According to Okon, it is anticipated the project will create at least 300,000 jobs in Akwa Ibom when it is completed.
“Akwa Ibom is industrialised because this project, when operational, would solve and arrest critical problems in the state, especially the issue of unemployment, and then stimulate our state economy accordingly. The total cost of construction of the Ibom Deep Seaport is $4.6bn but the first phase of it is $2.016bn which was approved on Wednesday, December 16, by the Federal Government,” Okon said.
The Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu declared on March 1, 2022, that the $2.59 billion Badagry Deep Seaport project—which is anticipated to be among the biggest in Africa—would begin operations in June.
Sanwo-Olu disclosed this in a statement at a meeting with stakeholders on the Badagry Deep Seaport and Free Zone Project.
According to Sanwo-Olu, the Badagry Deep Seaport Project is not just one project but a multi-level opportunity for progress for all the people of the state, given the volume of trade and quantum of investment opportunities that would spring up in the area when the project commences, and when it is completed and operational.
“Very importantly, employment and capacity building for the teeming youth and women in the affected communities will be prioritised. When fully operational, it will not only boost the fortunes of the people of Badagry but, also transform the entire economy of our state and that of the entire West African sub-region,” he said.
Meanwhile, stakeholders have said that the broader implications of those unfinished projects are significant, expressing disappointment over the lack of progress.
The President of the National Association of Master Mariners, Captain Tajudeen Alao, noted that the country did not need many deep seaports but smart ports.
He said that a few deep seaports and the use of feeder vessels to other ports its required by the country.
“How much import and export are we planning for? We need to rethink so that we don’t have redundant ports like Sapele, Koko, and Calabar,” he stated.
