Lekki Port and CMA CGM Group to aid trade volume growth

Du Ruogang, managing director of Lekki Port LFTZ Enterprise Limited (LPLEL), promoter of the Lekki Deep Sea Port, disclosed that Lekki Port will facilitate trade volume growth for Nigeria and increase the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as part of the macroeconomic benefits of the port to the economy.

Other benefits include improvement of external trade competitiveness through improved port efficiency; cost-effective port operations and services, and improved turnaround time for cargo handling and clearance; a reduction in delays in the supply of raw materials and equipment, as well as reduced costs of importations and charges such as demurrage, among others.

“With Lekki Port, Nigeria will witness a growth in maritime traffic and global trade and strengthen connectivity and capability to provide efficient and reliable services. Lekki Port will be a critical engine that will drive the Nigerian economy upon the commencement of operations. I am equally confident that it would help to reinforce Nigeria’s status as a regional maritime hub and enable many related industries to flourish,” Ruogang said.

The CEO of Lekki Freeport Terminal, operated by CMA Terminals, a subsidiary of the CMA CGM Group, Denrick Moos, highlighted that in addition to its state-of-the-art infrastructures, Lekki Port would become a new-generation container terminal, a game-changing infrastructure in Nigeria and West Africa. The Port is Nigeria’s first deep sea port and is equipped with 13 quay cranes for a capacity of 2.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) on a 1.2 km quay with a depth of 16 m; it will operate vessels with a capacity of up to 15,000 TEUs and become one of the largest in West Africa.

Through the new container terminal at Lekki Port, the CMA CGM Group will further develop its presence in Nigeria, the continent’s largest economy and population and the most critical consumer market in West Africa. It will consolidate its global African shipping and logistics network.

The CMA CGM Group also strengthened the region’s logistics and port infrastructures through significant investments as a global port operator with its subsidiary CMA Terminals.