President Bola Tinubu has officially flagged off the construction of the $3.5 billion Bakassi Deep Seaport in Cross River State, marking a strategic move to expand Nigeria’s maritime capacity.
The project is designed to alleviate the heavy pressure on the nation’s existing port infrastructure, which remains heavily concentrated in the Lagos port complex.
During the ceremony, the President dismissed assertions that the federal government or interests in Lagos had historically opposed the development of deep-sea ports in other regions of the country.
The Bakassi Deep Seaport is expected to serve as a critical gateway for trade in the South-South and South-East regions, providing a more efficient route for imports and exports that currently rely on long overland journeys from the coast.
The project’s $3.5 billion valuation includes the construction of deep-water berths capable of receiving larger vessels, modern container terminals, and integrated logistics hubs to support industrial growth in the hinterland.
This development comes after decades of stalled attempts to establish a viable deep-sea port in the Bakassi peninsula, a region that was the subject of a long-standing territorial dispute between Nigeria and Cameroon.
The International Court of Justice ruling on Bakassi provided the legal framework for the territory’s transition, and the current administration is now leveraging the location’s strategic position in the Gulf of Guinea to attract foreign direct investment.
Reducing Dependence on Lagos Maritime Hubs
For years, the Nigerian maritime sector has faced significant bottlenecks due to its over-reliance on the ports in Lagos, specifically the Apapa and Tin Can Island ports.
The Nigerian Ports Authority has frequently reported congestion issues that lead to increased demurrage costs for importers and delays in the delivery of essential goods.
The Bakassi project is part of a broader national strategy to create a more balanced maritime distribution. This includes the development of other deep-sea ports, such as the Lekki Deep Seaport, to ensure that the economy is not vulnerable to a single point of failure in its logistics chain.
Economists suggest that the Bakassi port will significantly lower the cost of doing business for manufacturers in the South-East, who currently face high transportation costs moving goods from Lagos to hubs like Onitsha and Aba.
The facility is expected to facilitate higher volumes of bulk cargo and containerized shipments, potentially increasing the non-oil revenue of the federal government through improved customs collections and port royalties.
Beyond trade, the project is anticipated to create thousands of direct and indirect jobs in construction, stevedoring, and logistics, providing a significant economic boost to Cross River State.
The investment model for the port involves a partnership between the federal government and private consortia, adhering to the public-private partnership (PPP) framework to limit the direct burden on the national treasury.
According to trade analysts, the project aligns with the goals of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) by enhancing the intra-African movement of goods and reducing the reliance on inefficient transit corridors.
The construction phase will involve extensive dredging to ensure the port can accommodate the largest container ships in the world, known as Ultra Large Container Vessels (ULCVs).
The next phase of the project involves the finalisation of environmental impact assessments and the commencement of land reclamation work at the designated site.
The federal government has indicated that the project timeline will be strictly monitored to avoid the delays that plagued previous maritime initiatives in the region.
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