Ogun Deep Seaport, DP World New Pact Targets $7bn Investments, 50,000 Jobs

The new agreement signed by the Ogun State government and DP World is expected to attract more than $7 billion in investment and create 50,000 direct jobs through the development of the proposed Gateway Deep Sea Port and Blue Marine Special Economic Zone.

This was disclosed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu during the signing ceremony in Paris, France, where he said the projects would ease logistics bottlenecks, strengthen Nigeria’s manufacturing and export capacity, and create new economic opportunities.

The proposed Gateway Deep Sea Port and Ogun State Blue Marine Special Economic Zone could attract more than $7 billion in initial investment and create over 50,000 direct jobs, under a development framework expected to ease logistics constraints and expand Nigeria’s manufacturing and export capacity.

The Ogun State government and DP World MEA FZE signed Memoranda of Understanding for the projects in Paris, France, in the presence of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, and the managing director and chief executive of the Nigerian Ports Authority, Abubakar Dantsoho.

The projects are expected to provide an alternative trade gateway to the congested Lagos port corridor, enable larger vessels to call at the Nigerian coast and establish an integrated platform linking maritime transport with manufacturing, processing and export-oriented industries.

The proposed Gateway Deep Sea Port, to be located in Ogun Waterside, will have a four-kilometre berth and an 18-metre draft. Its deeper draft is expected to allow it to handle larger vessels, potentially reducing cargo delays and logistics costs for importers and exporters.

The port will be integrated with the proposed 10,000-hectare Blue Marine Special Economic Zone, where imported inputs could be processed into finished goods and Nigerian raw materials converted into products for domestic and international markets.

President Tinubu said the integrated development would help address infrastructure and logistics bottlenecks that have constrained Nigeria’s industrial growth.

“We are doing more than signing agreements; we are laying the foundation for a new chapter in Nigeria’s development,” the President said.

He said the projects would connect maritime infrastructure to industrial production and access to African and global markets, adding that the investment would support economic diversification under the Renewed Hope Agenda.

“A port moves cargo; a port integrated with a special economic zone helps to build an economy,” Tinubu said.

The President said the 28-kilometre Ogun section of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway would provide a key link between the proposed port, the economic zone, Lagos, the Nigerian hinterland and other African markets.

The corridor is also expected to connect with the proposed Nigerian Navy Operating Base and Dockyard and the OK LNG Project, linking maritime infrastructure with energy, security and industrial development.

According to Tinubu, the projects are projected to generate more than 50,000 direct jobs, in addition to indirect employment across logistics, manufacturing, maritime services, construction, technology and small and medium-scale enterprises.

However, the projected economic impact will depend on the mobilisation of financing, completion of supporting infrastructure and the conversion of the agreements into bankable and operational projects.

The President assured investors of regulatory clarity, policy stability and federal support for road, rail and power connections, as well as investment protection and maritime security.

He said the Federal Government would hold all parties accountable for their commitments, stressing that the agreements must result in actual investments, projects, jobs and economic opportunities.

Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun said the deep seaport could help reposition the state as a major logistics and industrial hub after more than three decades of largely unrealised plans for a port along the Ogun coastline.

“Our ambition is not merely to berth ships. We are building a gateway for Ogun and Nigeria’s productive strength to reach Africa and the world,” Abiodun said.

He said the project would support supply chains, strengthen SMEs, increase export capacity and attract foreign direct investment across manufacturing, logistics, maritime services and technology.

The governor also identified the proposed Blue Marine Special Economic Zone as a platform for attracting capital, technology, innovation and skilled talent. He cited DP World’s Jebel Ali Free Zone as an example of the potential benefits of integrating a port with an industrial and logistics zone.

The proposed development forms part of a wider multimodal network involving the Gateway International Airport, dry ports, the coastal highway and the deep seaport.

Abiodun said the state would prioritise host-community participation, environmental sustainability and security as the projects move towards implementation.

“History will judge us not by the elegance of documents signed, but by the transformation that follows. Ceremonies proclaim intentions; only implementation creates prosperity,” he said.

The agreements mark a major step in Ogun’s long-standing coastal development plans, although the scale of the projected benefits will ultimately be measured by the commencement of construction, completion of transport and power links, and the establishment of operating industries within the economic zone.