Nigeria Targets Export Growth With $1bn Apapa Port Upgrade

The federal government is targeting increased export volumes and improved port efficiency with a planned $1 billion investment in the expansion and modernisation of Apapa Port, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Dr Abubakar Dantsoho, has said.

Dantsoho disclosed this at the ongoing Annual World Ports Conference in London, organised by the International Association of Ports and Harbours (IAPH), where he revealed that Nigeria’s exports had grown by 25 per cent in the last two years following government reforms and improved collaboration with private terminal operators.

He said the proposed investment in Apapa Port formed part of the Federal Government’s medium- to long-term strategy to strengthen port infrastructure, increase cargo-handling capacity, and position Nigeria to take greater advantage of emerging opportunities in regional and international trade.

According to him, the expansion and modernisation project would require substantial private sector investment, prompting the NPA to collaborate with major terminal operators, including APM Terminals, and other international partners.

Dantsoho said the impact of ongoing reforms was already evident in the growth of exports, particularly non-oil commodities such as cocoa, cashew and manufactured products.

He said, “So for us in Nigeria, the most important thing is that we are seeing growth as a result of this policy that we are taking. Statistically, the exports from Nigeria in the last two years has increased by 25 per cent.

“And then these are exports that are not mainly only oil and gas, in terms of oil and gas like I mentioned, we are doing fantastically around that, but then also in the other areas of manufacturing and agriculture, you know, raw materials like cocoa, like cashew and all that. Volumes have increased and that this is to the credit of the partnership that we have between ourselves and the major terminal operators APM Terminals.”

He said the NPA had established about four Export Processing Terminals across the country to sustain the growth in non-oil exports and ensure that export cargoes meet required standards before leaving Nigeria.

The terminals, he explained, operate through collaboration between the NPA, terminal operators, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and other relevant government agencies, with the aim of completing necessary cargo processing locally and reducing delays in export procedures.

“We have got about four of those in Nigeria where we collaborate with the terminal operators, with the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), and other agencies that have a stake. So that everything regarding the processing of the cargo for export is done locally, so that by the time it is exported out of Nigeria, there will not be issues regarding standards,” he added.

The NPA boss said Nigeria was also better positioned to benefit from the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), following the economic reforms of the present administration.

He noted that the country’s population, expanding economic activities and growing investor interest offered significant opportunities for increased trade with other African economies.

“Nigeria’s economy is very strong now because of our president’s reforms, which everyone can testify is attracting investors to the country. So, because of that, we are leading other African countries to ensure that we export or trade with one another in a free and fair manner.

“So between, for example, Nigeria and Morocco, there’s a lot of exchange of idea because Morocco is now a hub for manufacturing of electric cars and other smaller cars,” he said.

Dantsoho further attributed the improved performance of Nigerian ports to ongoing reforms, technology adoption and stronger collaboration with international port operators.

He disclosed that two Nigerian ports featured among the top 20 in the latest global ports ranking by the World Bank, describing the achievement as evidence of improved operational efficiency.

“This is the result of hard work and efficiency, because we are collaborating efficiently. And so we have identified that this is getting us a lot of good results. It’s result-oriented, it’s technology-based. So we are going to continue to consolidate on the relationship we have with major players in Morocco and South Africa,” he said.

He also disclosed that revenue generated by ports across the country had quadrupled, while cargo volumes had recorded significant increases, attributing the performance to improved efficiency and collaboration with international partners.

“We have experienced a lot of increase in volumes and revenue that has been generated by the ports across Nigeria, and it is strictly because of the collaboration between us and other countries. As a matter of fact, the efficiency in the ports in Nigeria is far better now than those of other West African countries.

“I am saying this because as the president of Association of Ports in West and Central Africa, we have the same dashboard to know the performance of other ports in the regions. There has also been improvement in Tanzania and Kenya. So it’s a very good feeling that this collaboration is getting us the desired results and we have to consolidate and also make sure that we progress on time so that we don’t allow the detraction to begin to slow us down,” he said.

On technology, the NPA managing director said the authority was pursuing partnerships with international firms to digitise port operations, improve cargo clearance and enhance coordination among stakeholders.

He disclosed that the NPA had partnered with a Singaporean firm to develop a single-window system and was also working with a company from Abu Dhabi to develop a Port Community System.

According to him, the initiatives, alongside the proposed Apapa Port upgrade, would strengthen Nigeria’s port infrastructure, improve trade facilitation and enhance the country’s competitiveness in the African and global maritime markets.

He said the authority was also encouraging business-to-business partnerships among private sector operators to mobilise the investment and technology required to modernise the nation’s ports.