WPC: Dantsoho Showcases Tinubu’s Investor-friendliness Maritime Policy, Return on Investment Chances

Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho, Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), recently presented President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's maritime strategies at the World Ports Conference in London. The policies were showcased as favorable for investors, highlighting the growing need for global investment in Africa's ports. Dantsoho emphasized the potential of Nigeria's burgeoning population, urbanization, and infrastructural gaps as prime investment opportunities within the maritime and associated sectors.

Addressing a gathering of maritime investors from around the globe, Dantsoho pointed out that Nigeria's population has surged from 45 million at independence in 1960 to over 260 million today. He stressed that the government cannot fund the development of larger or deeper sea ports, emphasizing the necessity for investors to seize these opportunities.

"In Nigeria, we identified that infrastructure gap especially in our ports' development, and we realized that we must do something quickly, both in terms of the capacity to receive bigger vessels for import, and also the capacity to move higher numbers of cargo for export," he stated.

The vice-president of the International Association of Ports & Harbours (IAPH) and chairman of the Port Management Association of West and Central Africa (PMAWCA) highlighted the completion of Nigeria's first deep-sea port, Lekki Deep Sea Port, recently funded by the Chinese government. However, Dantsoho noted that the port's capacity has already been exhausted within just three years, necessitating additional capacity to handle increased cargo volumes.

"We are happy that we are capturing more of the cargo, the volumes are going up, because that is the only way that we can also increase our value, the revenue that we expect to make from these transactions," he remarked.

Dantsoho further explained that West African countries like Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Togo, and the Republic of Benin contribute significantly to the cargo arriving in Nigeria, with their populations totaling 89 million people combined. He reiterated that Nigeria's massive population and ongoing infrastructure needs make it the ideal destination for ports investment and development, underlining the critical role of private investment in fulfilling the nation's expansion goals.