APM Terminals has signed an agreement to explore the development of the proposed Badagry Deep Seaport in Lagos, potentially bringing one of the world’s largest container-terminal operators into the long-delayed greenfield project.
The agreement was signed Monday in Copenhagen between APM Terminals, part of A.P. Moller-Maersk, and Badagry Port Development Ltd., during a visit by Adegboyega Oyetola, minister of Marine and Blue Economy, to Denmark.
Under the memorandum of understanding, the parties will enter exclusive negotiations on the development of the port, according to the ministry.
Badagry, on the Lagos-Benin border, is planned as a deepwater facility capable of handling larger container vessels and serving as a transshipment hub for cargo moving across West Africa. The Lekki port in Lagos is currently the only port in the country capable of handling such.
APM Terminals already operates container facilities at Apapa and the West Africa Container Terminal in Onne, Rivers State. The company also discussed extending its concessions at both terminals with the Nigerian government during the Denmark visit.
The 14-year timeline
The Badagry Deep Seaport has been in the works for at least 14 years.
In 2012, when the project was first conceived, APM Terminals was among investors that launched plans for a greenfield port in the area. The Federal Government and Lagos State subsequently moved to formalise the project, with an APM Terminals-led consortium signing a concession agreement in 2014.
The plan at the time envisaged construction beginning in 2015 and operations by 2019, but those timelines were not met and the project did not progress to completion.
The project was revived under a different framework in 2022, when the Federal Executive Council approved a $2.5 billion concession to develop the port under a build-operate-own-transfer model.