Nigeria, West Africa Attract $27bn Maritime Investments For Port Expansion
Nigeria and other countries in West and Central Africa are witnessing a renewed wave of maritime infrastructure development, with more than $27 billion committed to port expansion projects across the region.
The development was disclosed during the Mid-Year Session of the Board of Directors of the Port Management Association of West and Central Africa (PMAWCA) held in Lagos.
Speaking at the event, the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, said the Federal Government had approved the development of additional deep seaports to strengthen Nigeria’s position as the leading maritime and logistics hub in West and Central Africa.
According to the minister, the new ports are expected to complement existing infrastructure, improve supply chain resilience and boost Nigeria’s competitiveness in global maritime trade.
Oyetola also disclosed that existing seaports across the country would undergo major upgrades, including channel deepening, to accommodate larger vessels and increase cargo handling capacity.
He noted that the administration of President Bola Tinubu remained committed to modernising the nation’s ports through infrastructure renewal, digital transformation and improved operational efficiency.
The minister said coordinated policy interventions and stronger collaboration among government agencies had helped reduce logistics bottlenecks at major seaports, leading to improved cargo evacuation, shorter vessel waiting time and enhanced operational efficiency.
On maritime security, Oyetola stated that the implementation of the Deep Blue Project had significantly reduced piracy and maritime crimes in Nigerian waters and across the Gulf of Guinea, thereby boosting investor confidence in the region’s maritime corridor.
He urged delegates at the conference to pursue initiatives that would strengthen logistics resilience, sustainable port management, digital transformation and inclusive coastal development.
In his remarks, the President of PMAWCA and Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, Abubakar Dantsoho, said the region was experiencing a major resurgence in maritime infrastructure investment.
Dantsoho highlighted several ongoing projects across the subregion, including the $20 billion Simandou-Morebaya Deep Sea Port project in Guinea, the $2 billion Port San Pedro project in Côte d’Ivoire, the $1.5 billion Lekki Deep Sea Port in Lagos, the $1.2 billion Ndayane Port project in Dakar, and the $1.5 billion Tema port development in Ghana.
He also referenced ongoing investments in Nigeria’s Apapa and Tin Can Island ports valued at about $1 billion, as well as a planned $600 million investment by APM Terminals.
According to him, ports in West and Central Africa must evolve beyond traditional cargo gateways and become drivers of the blue economy through sectors such as fisheries, renewable marine energy, aquaculture, tourism and marine biotechnology.
Also speaking at the event, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, represented by the Commissioner for Transportation, Oluwaseun Osiyemi, said the presence of more than 350 international trade facilitators and industry leaders at the conference reflected growing confidence in Nigeria’s maritime sector.
Sanwo-Olu noted that the Lagos port corridor, covering Apapa, Tin Can Island and Lekki, accounts for a significant share of Nigeria’s international trade, making discussions on port efficiency and logistics critical to national economic growth.
He added that regional cooperation among African countries remained essential to improving intra-African trade, addressing port congestion, enhancing digitalisation and tackling maritime security challenges.
