BUA Targets 2m-Tonne Imports With $85m Port Expansion

BUA Group has said it is investing about $85 million to expand its BUA Ports and Terminals facility in Port Harcourt, as it prepares to handle more than 2 million tonnes of imported raw materials annually for its growing food business.

Chairman of BUA Group, Abdul Samad Rabiu, disclosed this during a visit to the managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Dr Abubakar Dantsoho at the authority’s headquarters in Lagos, where he said the company came to appreciate the support it has received and brief the authority on the progress of the project.

According to him, the expansion has advanced significantly and is critical to supporting the rapid growth of BUA Foods in Port Harcourt.

“We’re here to, first of all, thank the MD and his team for the support we’re getting, and also to brief NPA and the management on the progress we’re making as regards the expansion of our BUA Ports and Terminals in Port Harcourt,” Rabiu said.

He added, “We’ve gone very far, and we thought it was important for us to come brief the management and also ask for additional support, and I’m happy that the MD and his team have promised that they’ll continue to give us all the necessary support.”

Rabiu explained that BUA Foods is undergoing a major expansion programme and that efficient port infrastructure is essential to sustaining its operations.

“As you know, BUA Foods is operating in Port Harcourt, and BUA Foods is expanding, and by the time we are done with the expansion, inshallah, next year, we’ll be having almost over two million tonnes of products being imported as raw materials to Port Harcourt, and for that we need a terminal, we need a facility,” he stated.

On the scale of the maritime investment, Rabiu clarified that the port expansion alone is valued at about $85 million.

The port’s expansion totals about $80 million. It’s about $85 million in total, and that is going to give us about 600 metres of seaside,” he said.

The BUA chairman noted that the expanded terminal would strengthen the company’s logistics backbone as it grows across food, cement, mining, infrastructure and other industrial segments.

He stressed that Nigeria’s economic potential can only be fully realised with improved port infrastructure, saying the country still lags behind major economies in that area.

“Nigeria, being the biggest economy, Lagos being the biggest economy, yet we don’t have the infrastructure as far as port infrastructure is concerned,” he said.

Rabiu commended the NPA management for what he described as its competence and dedication, and thanked President Bola Tinubu for appointing the current leadership.

Reflecting on the history of the Port Harcourt terminal, Rabiu revealed that the facility had once faced the threat of losing its acquisition rights, but said the current support from the NPA had enabled the project to move forward successfully.

“I remember that at a point, even that terminal acquisition was revoked, but look at us, we are now here, and we’re getting all the support that we need from the management,” he added.

Also speaking, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Dr Abubakar Dantsoho, has projected double-digit growth in cargo throughput and revenue from the $85 million expansion of its port and terminal facilities in Port Harcourt.

The MD, while speaking, described the investment as a major boost to trade and the development of Nigeria’s eastern ports.

Dantsoho said the investment would increase cargo volumes, generate more revenue for the country and strengthen the competitiveness of Nigerian ports.

According to him, the Authority is committed to collaborating with investors to improve port efficiency and unlock greater economic value.

He said, “He’s a major stakeholder for many years. And what he’s doing for us is something that is naturally expected of us to put together, to collaborate with them, the major stakeholders, and even the smallest stakeholders, and especially expanding in the eastern ports.

“You know, we need Nigeria to, in the port system, to be like more generic. So now we know that he has invested a lot in Lagos. Now he’s investing also a lot in Port Harcourt.

“So in that way, our volumes will increase, which means that even if we are talking about exporting, we are exporting more. If we are talking about importing, we can import more. And by doing so, we are now going to create more value. That is money from those transactions. And that is what the government is expecting of us.”

Dantsoho also commended President Bola Tinubu for encouraging closer collaboration between the Authority and private sector investors.

“I’m happy that he has mentioned his thanks and appreciation and gratitude to Mr. President for allowing us as management and encouraging us to also collaborate with stakeholders like him and other ones, so that we can make Nigerian Port Authority a greater stakeholder in West Africa and Africa in general,” he said.

On the expected impact of the project, the NPA boss said the investment would deliver significant growth in cargo traffic and earnings.

“We are going to expect that we are going to have more volumes. Once you have volumes, then you have more value, then more dollars and more naira will come. And that is what is required,” he said.

Providing an estimate of the expected increase in port activity, Dantsoho added, “On a normal day, 16 per cent is expected anywhere in the world in the port industry. So with this kind of development, I’m sure we can get like 13-14 per cent, which is a very fantastic thing to happen.”

He noted that Nigeria’s ports have recently recorded significant improvements in global rankings.

“As you can see, just as recently as two months ago, the Nigerian ports, especially Tin Can and Apapa, were recognised by S&P and the World Bank as among the 20 most improved ports in the world.

“We can’t be doing that as NPA alone. This is what has been missing for some time. We know that we have to come to them. They know that they have to come to us. This is something that must happen for us to make any progress. And we are achieving that, so give God the glory,” he added.

The expansion is expected to provide about 600 metres of quay frontage, significantly increasing BUA’s cargo-handling capacity in Port Harcourt and positioning the company to support its rising import volumes and broader industrial growth strategy.