To assist alleviate port congestion and position Nigeria as a transhipment hub for Africa, the country unveiled a Chinese-built deep seaport in Lagos on Monday. The project cost $1 billion.
President Muhammadu Buhari has made infrastructure development a cornerstone of his administration’s economic policy in the hopes that it will assist the governing party gain support from voters before the presidential election next month.
The Lagos state government and the China Harbour Engineering Company and the Tolaram company each control 25% of the future Lekki Deep Sea Port.
“This is a transformative project, game changer project. This project could create at least 200,000 jobs,” Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria Cui Jianchun told Reuters after the port was commissioned by Buhari.
China has financed Nigeria’s rail, road, and electricity infrastructure, making it one of the country’s top bilateral lenders.
