The Federal Executive Council approved the Badagry Deep Seaport in August, and the governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, now has permission to build it.
The approval, which was given at the recently concluded Lagos State Economic Summit (Ehingbeti 2022), was announced in a statement signed by Sanwo-Chief Olu’s Press Secretary, Gboyega Akosile. It follows the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission’s issuance of the Full Business Case Certificate in April and authorises and provides the legal basis for the concession of the Badagry Deep Seaport.
The $2.5 billion project, which would be paid for through a public-private partnership, would reportedly be constructed on a plot of land measuring about 496 hectares. It would have a minimum depth of 18 meters, 2,470 quay length container terminals, 560 quay length break bulk terminals, and 360 quay length OSB terminals.
It was anticipated to produce 250,000 direct employment, increase tax revenue for the government, and run on a build, operate, and transfer concession arrangement.
Speaking on the development, Sanwo-Olu claimed that the Seaport would improve Lagos State’s capacity for logistics and trade.
He said, “We are excited that Lagos is on the way to having another deep seaport on the Western side of the city. Before the end of this year, we will be commissioning the Lekki Deep Seaport on the Eastern side. What it means is that, what we have been suffering as a logistics and commerce hub of West Africa will be addressed when we increase maritime infrastructure that improves turnaround time in this sector.”
As a result, Lagos will undoubtedly continue to serve as the sub-Saharan region’s primary economic and commercial hub.
In order to establish an Energy Training Center of Excellence at the Government Technical College in Ikorodu, Sanwo-Olu also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Siemens Energy Limited and the German-owned Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit.
Over 16,000 teenagers between the ages of 15 and 35 would receive a needs-based technical and vocational education through the training, which would be carried out in partnership with the Lagos State Technical and Vocational Education Board.
It was anticipated that the curriculum would generate highly trained industry technicians who were practice-oriented. A 30% seat would be given to female candidates, according to Sanwo-Olu, to increase the number of women pursuing engineering degrees.
