$2.5bn Badagry Deep Seaport To Create 250,0O0 Jobs

Fresh facts have emerged that the proposed $2.5 billion Badagry Deep Seaport in Lagos State will create about 250,00 jobs and boost the economic prosperity of the state.

Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu who received the concession document for Badagry Deep Seaport at the just concluded Lagos State Economic Summit (Ehingbeti 2022) said the state is already counting the gains of the two- day event.

Governor Sanwo-Olu, at the event, received the approval to build the Badagry Deep Seaport, which was approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) last August.

The approval authorises and provides legal basis for the concession of the Badagry Deep Seaport, following the issuance of the Full Business Case Certificate by the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) last April.

The project, which will be funded through Public Private Partnership (PPP), will be built on approximately 496 hectares. It will have 2,470m quay length container terminal, 560m quay length break bulk terminal, 360m quay length OSB terminal and minimum of 18m depth.

It is expected to generate 250,000 direct jobs, enhance government revenue and operate under a Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) concession agreement.

Sanwo-Olu signed also a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Siemens Energy Limited and German-owned Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) to set up an Energy Training Centre of Excellence at the Government Technical College in Ikorodu.

The Governor 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. With this, Lagos is assured to remain the economic and commercial nerve centre of the entire sub-Saharan Africa.

“The deal with Siemens and GIZ, which are German companies, is another promise made and promise kept. We gave a commitment to this partnership because of the conviction we have for its necessity. Thousands of Lagosians will be trained with industry-required skills for the future of work at our Vocational Training College. We are excited because we are not only transferring skills to people in government, but private citizens as well. The best technicians in Germany will be conducting these training sessions.”