Governor Sanwo-Olu Announces $2.9 Billion Badagry Port Project for 2025 Completion

Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the Governor of Lagos State, announced that the Badagry Port's construction could be finalized by 2025. He stated that investors are currently sourcing funds and all necessary approvals are in progress. Sanwo-Olu made this announcement during a meeting with the Acting Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Bashir Adeniyi, at the Lagos House, Marina. The Governor also mentioned that the new port would increase the Nigerian government's revenue and tax collection through trade, thereby boosting the economy.

Badagry Port Development and Launch

Sanwo-Olu mentioned that the state government had established communication with a contractor responsible for the development of the Badagry Port. He emphasized that investors are actively pooling the required funds to ensure the project's completion by the year 2025, he said: 

“The whole idea is to build strategic infrastructure for our citizens. Lekki is on the Eastern part and Badagry on the Western part, so that we can decongest Apapa and Tincan, which we have stretched beyond their capacities. We need to think forward and I am happy that investors are putting the funding together and all the approvals are being sorted so that in two years, we might also have a brand new port. ”

The Lagos Governor added that the construction of the Badagry port will ensure that things can move in and out and Lagos  can begin to compete with some of the nice ports we see around the world,  

“So that we can improve the revenue earning of government and be able to do any other things,” he said. 

Partnering with Customs

 He added that the Lagos state government would continue to partner with the Nigeria Customs Service to ensure the turnaround of the ports in the state, urging that his administration is committed to making Lagos a business destination for as many investors as possible, so as to improve the economic prosperity of the state. 

“I want to assure you that Lagos and Lagosians will continue to give you hospitality; a place of comfort and a willing environment where business can thrive, where officers can do their work without fear or favour, and where service can be rendered to our citizens, your customers, and the international community at large. ”

“We will continue to work together, and because of where we are as a country and the need to increase our export, foreign currency and ensure that we are not a mono-product country that relies only on oil, we will encourage our manufacturers to export, so that they can drive more foreign direct investment and foreign currency that can help to improve our currency,”  

Bashir Adeniyi, the Acting Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, praised the Sanwo-Olu-led administration and acknowledged that Lagos, being the economic hub of Nigeria, accounts for 70 to 75 per cent of the Customs revenue generated in the country, adding: 

“For us to be able to excel at our full potential, we need a peaceful working environment. I want to assure the governor that as responsible officers and agencies of government, we will live up to our civic responsibilities, and more importantly, we will operate within the framework of the law.”

What’s more? 

Last year, the Nigerian Federal Government sanctioned $2.9 billion for the advancement of the Badagry Deep Seaport located in Lagos State. The announcement was made by former Ministers of Transport, Muazu Sambo, and Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mallam Muhammed Bello, during a gathering in Abuja on Wednesday.

 According to the Minister, the Badagry project will be implemented through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiative, with the private sector infusing funds into the port's development and overseeing its management for a span of 45 years. In his words, "I presented a memo to the council outlining the development of the Badagry Deep Seaport under a public-private partnership arrangement. The private sector will provide the necessary funds for the port's development, and upon the expiration of the concessionary period, the port will be transferred back to the Nigerian government under the Nigerian Ports Authority." 

The council's approval of the project aligns with the final business case, which was earlier endorsed by the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission in accordance with existing laws, totaling $2.59 billion. The development is scheduled to be executed in four phases within the 45-year concessionary period.