The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Dr Abubakar Dantsoho, has said the Bakassi Deep Sea Port will significantly strengthen Nigeria’s position as a leading maritime gateway in West Africa and across the continent.
Speaking at the Presidential Groundbreaking Ceremony on Friday, he noted that the port, being developed under a Public-Private Partnership and backed by a $3.5 billion facility from the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), is designed to accommodate Ultra Large Container Vessels. This will reduce the need for frequent maintenance dredging and enhance Nigeria’s competitiveness in international shipping.
The project will be supported by a dedicated 275-kilometre, six-lane Calabar-Ogoja-Gakem Superhighway, which will link the port to Nigeria’s North-Central and North-Eastern regions while providing a cost-effective transshipment route for landlocked countries including Chad, Niger Republic, Mali and Burkina Faso.
Dantsoho stressed that the port will boost regional trade, improve connectivity, attract greater investment into the blue economy, and help position Nigerian ports among the leading maritime facilities in Africa.
He also commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for ongoing port modernisation efforts and reaffirmed NPA’s commitment to ensuring the project meets safety, environmental, and international best-practice standards.
