Lekki port targets West African hub status by 2028, begins transhipment to Ghana, Togo

Lekki port, Nigeria’s first deep seaport said it is firmly on track to become a dominant gateway for Nigerian cargo and a maritime hub for West Africa by 2028.

This goal is fluelled by significant growth in cargo volumes and plans to expand both international and local transhipmement activities.

Deputy Chief Operating Officer, Lekki Port, Daniel Odibe, who disclosed this at a media parley in Lagos on Thursday said the port has already commenced international transhipmement operations to neighboring West African countries such as Ghana, Togo, Abidjan, and Cotonou, with plans to expand to other African countries.

He said the port is also pushing to expand local transhipmement, aiming to serve other Nigerian ports.

He said, “When you make a comparison of our projections, all things being equal, we see ourselves as a major gateway for Nigerian cargo and maritime hub for West Africa come 2028.

“We are doing international transhipmement to other West African countries like Ghana, Abidjan, Togo and Cotonou and we hope to expand to the rest of Africa. But most importantly, we hope to expand the local transhipmement, which is servicing other ports in Nigeria.

“Currently, we have ports like Warri, Calabar, Onne, Port Harcourt and inland ports in Onitsha .. you don’t have big vessels going there, because the draught is low.

“So, the idea here is to have cargoes for those ports discharge in Lekki. Then you can have smaller vessels or even barges distribute cargo to those places. That would be one of the economic opportunities in those areas.

“We did some trials to Onne and we had some challenges, but again, it was an eye-opener. And we are looking at restarting that again this year, in collaboration with the shipping lines and other operators.”

On cargo throughput volume, Odibe said despite initial economic challenges occasioned by removal of fuel subsidy and naira depreciation, cargo volumes are now gradually improving as it processed 222,000 TEUs between January and June 2025.

He said: “Lekki Port currently receives between 10-12 vessels every month. We are picking up because Naira is gradually stabilising.

“Volumes fell because of Naira depreciation and the removal of fuel subsidy, and this caused a setback in our projection. As of 2023, when we started operations, we did 54,289 TEUs, and as of June of this year, we have done 222,000, and we are projecting 500,000 TEUs.”

Odibe also stated that the vessel turnaround time at Lekki Port currently stands at 48 hours as against one hour and 25 minutes for truck turnaround time, while cargo dwell time is 16 days.

Earlier in his welcome address, the Chief Operating Officer of Lekki Port, Yang Xixiong, said that Lekki Port will continue to raise the bar to international standards.

“We continue to push the envelope, set the bar higher to uphold our position as West Africa’s deepest sea port.

“The result of our unrelenting commitment to world-class standards is visible in the gigantic footprints we are putting on the map of maritime trade in Africa, deploying technology, driving operational efficiency, and shaping regional trade,” he said.