The Nigeria Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi says he is satisfied with the pace of work on the Lekki Deep Sea Port that is under construction.
Ameachi made the observation after a tour of the facility in Ibeju Lekki, Lagos State.
He however urged the contractors to double their efforts towards ensuring a timely completion of the Port , so that it will start operation in earnest.
“I am happy; from the last time we came here, there has been huge progress; what this shows is that when you set your mind on something, you can achieve it.
“The agreement was that we would commission by the last quarter of 2022, but if we double our effort on this project, we could commission by July or August, and that would be great”,
In his remarks, the Chief Technical Officer, Lekki Port, Steven Heukelom, stated that work on the facility was going on as scheduled.
He explained that dredging and reclamation works had reached 89.93% completion, Quay Wall 85.65% completion, Breakwater 79.66% completion, the landside infrastructure development 67.82% completion, thus bringing total works carried out on the project to approximately 80% completion stage.
Heukelom stated further that construction work has commenced on the marine services jetty, which the NPA will use to carry out their marine services obligation.
He commended the Acting Managing Director, Mohammed Bello-Koko, for the support and partnership in preparing the Port to start operations.
Bello-Koko reaffirmed the agency’s readiness to provide marine services for the Ports operations. To this end, he disclosed that NPA is procuring tug boats and other necessary infrastructure for the smooth take-off of the Port.
On his part, the Chief Operating Officer of Lekki Port, Laurence Smith, reaffirmed the company’s commitment to delivering the project by the fourth quarter of 2022.
He noted that the EPC Contractor, China Habour Engineering LFTZ Enterprise, is working day and night to make this commitment a reality.
Smith expressed confidence that the Port, upon completion, would be a world-class port and would become a regional distribution and transhipment hub for the African region.
Gatekeeper news reports that Lekki Port is being developed by Tolaram and China Harbour Engineering Company. The Lagos State Government and NPA are also shareholders in the project company. The Port is scheduled to start port operations by the end of 2022.
