DP World’s $7B Nigeria Port and SEZ Plan Takes Shape

FTZ News: DP World has signed preliminary agreements for a deep-sea port and a special economic zone in Ogun State. International Finance reported it on Oct. 6. The deals cover the proposed Gateway Deep Seaport and the Ogun State Blue Marine Special Economic Zone. The two are planned across about 10,000 hectares. Nigeria’s government says they should draw more than $7 billion in initial investment and more than 50,000 direct jobs when fully built.

The memoranda were signed in Paris on Sept. 24. President Bola Tinubu was there. The port is planned with a four-kilometer berth and an 18-meter draft, enough for larger ships. Nigerian officials say the gateway could take pressure off Apapa and Tin Can Island and cut delays and hauling costs for importers and exporters. The zone is supposed to sit next to the port and take manufacturing, processing and export work.

International Finance kept the $7 billion separate from a DP World pledge of about $3 billion for ports and logistics across Africa. The Nigerian figure is what the government says the Ogun projects should attract. It is not cash DP World has sent. The paper did not give a construction start, a concession term, or say who puts up the $7 billion. The papers signed in Paris are still memoranda./.

photo: Presidency of Nigeria