By Mercy Aikoye
The Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Dr Abubakar Dantsoho, has called on global investors to take advantage of Nigeria’s growing maritime sector, citing the country’s expanding population, rising cargo volumes and infrastructure deficit as major investment opportunities.
He said the Federal Government’s maritime policies under President Bola Tinubu had created an enabling environment for private sector participation, particularly in the development and expansion of port infrastructure.
Dantsoho made the call on Tuesday while addressing a select group of international maritime investors at the ongoing World Ports Conference in London.
He noted that the increasing demand for port services, driven by population growth and urbanisation, had made it imperative for Nigeria and other African countries to attract private capital to bridge infrastructure gaps and improve port capacity.
The NPA boss said governments across Africa could no longer shoulder the enormous financial burden of developing bigger and deeper seaports, stressing that private investment was critical to accelerating maritime infrastructure development.
According to him, Nigeria’s population has grown from about 45 million at independence in 1960 to more than 260 million, creating increasing pressure on existing port infrastructure and the need for greater investment.
He said the country had already begun addressing the challenge through the development of the Lekki Deep Sea Port, which was built at a cost of $1.6bn through a partnership involving Chinese investors.
However, Dantsoho said the port’s capacity had been exhausted barely three years after its commissioning, underscoring the urgency of expanding Nigeria’s port infrastructure to accommodate rising cargo volumes.
He said, “As of today, just about three years later, the capacity of the new deep-sea port, that is Lekki, has been exhausted. This clearly shows that we need more capacity to contain the increasing volumes.”
Dantsoho, who is also Vice-President of the International Association of Ports and Harbours (IAPH) and Chairman of the Port Management Association of West and Central Africa (PMAWCA), said Nigeria remained a major destination for cargo entering the West African sub-region because of its large consumer market.
He explained that much of the cargo arriving in neighbouring countries, including Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Togo and Benin Republic, ultimately served the Nigerian market because of the country’s significantly larger population.
The NPA managing director maintained that the growing cargo traffic presented opportunities for investors to participate in port expansion, deepen maritime trade and improve the region’s capacity to handle larger vessels and export volumes.
He added that increased investment in port infrastructure would not only strengthen Nigeria’s position as a regional maritime hub but also boost the NPA’s revenue through higher cargo throughput and improved port operations.
