DP World, global ports and logistics operator, has signed agreements with the Ogun State Government to develop the Gateway Deep Seaport and a 10,000-hectare Blue Marine Special Economic Zone.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) agreement, signed in Paris, France, amid President Tinubu’s visit, envisages an initial investment of more than $7 billion, according to the Presidency on Thursday, with the potential to create more than 50,000 direct jobs when fully developed.
The proposed Gateway Deep Seaport at Ogun Waterside will have a four-kilometre berth and an 18-metre draft, allowing it to handle larger vessels and providing an alternative gateway to the congested Lagos port corridor.
President Tinubu said the port would help ease pressure on Apapa and Tin Can Island ports while reducing logistics costs and delays for importers and exporters.
‘The agreements before us bring together vision, expertise, capital and execution capacity. I particularly welcome DP World, one of the world’s leading port and logistics operators,’ Tinubu said in France.
The President said the Federal Government would provide regulatory and institutional support for the projects and facilitate road, rail and power connections needed to support the port and industrial zone.
He said the Blue Marine Special Economic Zone was already attracting interest from global manufacturing and industrial companies, with the zone expected to process imported inputs, convert Nigerian raw materials into finished products and support exports.
‘A port moves cargo; a port integrated with a special economic zone helps to build an economy. Each reinforces the other,’ Tinubu said.
The Gateway Deep Seaport is expected to serve the industrial zone and provide a new maritime gateway to Lagos, the Nigerian hinterland and markets across Africa.
Tinubu also linked the project to the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, saying the 28-kilometre Ogun section of the highway would provide a critical transport connection to the port and zone.
The President said the government would also work with Ogun State and investors to remove bureaucratic bottlenecks and strengthen investment security as the projects move from agreements to implementation.