The Nigerian Ports Authority has stepped up its drive to attract global investment into Nigeria’s maritime sector.
It is showcasing the Federal Government’s ongoing port reforms and investor-friendly policies at the World Ports Conference, pointing to opportunities for private sector participation, improved port efficiency and sustainable growth.
Speaking at the ongoing conference in London, the Managing Director of the NPA, Dr Abubakar Dantsoho, presented President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s maritime policies and positioned Nigeria’s ports as those of Africa’s biggest economy, which he said is seeking global investment.
He affirmed that the pace of growth and development at the country’s ports signals the huge opportunities investors should tap into. He added that the Tinubu administration has put in place policies that are friendly to investment.
The NPA boss identified Nigeria’s large population, rapid urbanisation and infrastructural gaps in the ports as attractive openings for investment in the maritime and allied sectors.
Dantsoho, who is also Vice-President of the International Association of Ports & Harbours (IAPH) and Chairman of the Port Management Association of West and Central Africa (PMAWCA), told investors that Africa’s untapped resources remain the best destination for ports investment and development.
He said government alone cannot fund the development of bigger or deeper seaports and similar projects, hence the need for investors to take advantage of such opportunities across the continent.
Dantsoho affirmed that “Nigeria has the highest population in Africa. So, the speed of growth is something that really should concern us. For example, in Nigeria, only recently, about 3 years ago, we commissioned the first deep sea port in Nigeria, which is called Lekki Deep Sea Port, that was funded by the Chinese government in relationship with China Harbor, and the expenditure cost us $1.6 billion to build Lekki in Lagos.”
