Buhari launches $1.5 billion deep seaport to boost ailing economy

A billion-dollar Chinese-built deep seaport has been opened in Lagos, Nigeria that is expected to relieve overcrowding at the country’s ports and help it become an African hub for transshipment, handling cargoes in transit for other destinations.

On Monday, President Buhari commissioned the port and has made building infrastructure a key pillar of his government’s economic policy and hopes this will help his ruling party win votes during next month’s presidential election.

Many of Nigeria’s seaports, inherited from the British colonial administration, are no longer functional or operate below capacity. Currently, most commercial activity goes through the two in Lagos and two others in and around Port Harcourt, the nation’s oil capital, resulting in steady gridlock and logistics issues for imports and exports.

Authorities have said the new port, built at a reported $1.5bn, is one of the largest in West Africa.