Ogun, DP World Sign $7bn-Plus Deals For Deep-Sea Port, Blue Marine SEZ
Reloaded News Desk
The Ogun State Government and DP World MEA FZE have signed Memoranda of Understanding for the development of the Gateway Deep Sea Port and the Ogun State Blue Marine Special Economic Zone, with the projects expected to attract more than $7 billion in initial investment and create over 50,000 direct jobs.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu witnessed the signing in Paris alongside the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, and the Director-General of the Nigerian Ports Authority, Mohammed Bello-Koko.
The agreements bring together the Federal Government, Ogun State Government, DP World and other public and private-sector partners around a proposed integrated maritime and industrial development.
The Gateway Deep Sea Port is planned for Ogun Waterside and is expected to have a four-kilometre berth and an 18-metre draft, allowing it to handle larger vessels.
The project is also intended to reduce pressure on the Lagos port corridor and improve the movement of goods into and out of the industrial belt.
The proposed port will be linked to a 10,000-hectare Blue Marine Special Economic Zone, where the state government plans to attract manufacturing, processing and export-oriented industries.
Tinubu said the integration of the port and economic zone would allow imported inputs to be processed into finished goods while Nigerian raw materials could be processed locally for export.
He described the combination as a platform for industrial production, maritime commerce and access to African and international markets.
The President said the projects represented an initial investment of more than $7 billion and were projected to generate over 50,000 direct jobs, in addition to indirect employment expected across logistics, manufacturing, maritime services and related businesses.
The proposed 28-kilometre Ogun section of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is expected to provide an important connection between the port, the industrial zone, Lagos and the wider Nigerian hinterland.
Tinubu also linked the development to other proposed investments in the area, including the Nigerian Navy Operating Base and Dockyard and the OK LNG Project.
He assured investors of federal support for infrastructure connectivity, regulatory clarity, investment security and the maritime environment.
Governor Dapo Abiodun described the agreements as a major step in Ogun’s long-standing ambition to develop its coastline into a major economic and trade corridor.
He said the deep-sea port had remained largely unrealised for more than three decades and credited Tinubu’s administration with providing the political support required to move the project forward.
Abiodun said the development was designed to go beyond port operations, with the wider corridor expected to support SMEs, manufacturing, logistics, technology, supply chains and exports.
He also pointed to the proposed integration of the deep-sea port with the Gateway International Airport, dry ports, the coastal highway and other infrastructure.
However, the agreements are still at the stage of project development and investment commitments. The projected $7 billion investment and 50,000 direct jobs will depend on financing, construction, infrastructure delivery and the successful establishment of businesses within the proposed economic zone.
The implementation timeline, financing structure and specific phases of the projects will therefore be critical to determining when the expected economic benefits become visible.
For Ogun, the development represents an attempt to turn its location between Lagos and Nigeria’s wider industrial hinterland into a major maritime and manufacturing advantage.
For Nigeria, the bigger proposition is whether the combination of a new deep-sea port and a large industrial zone can reduce logistics costs, expand local processing and create an additional gateway for Nigerian exports.
As Governor Abiodun put it, the significance of the agreements will ultimately be measured not by the signing ceremony but by what is built afterwards.
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