VANGUARD
President Muhammadu Buhari will any moment officially commission the $1.5 billion Lekki Deep Seaport, first in Nigeria
As at 1.40 pm, dignitaries, including diplomatic corps have stormed the Lekki Deep Sea Port, venue of the commissioning awaiting President Buhari who is also billed to commission other iconic projects in Lagos.
Among the dignitaries in attendance include: Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Muhammed, Managing Director, MD, of Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA Mohammed Bello Koko, DirectorcGeneral DG, NIMASA, Bashir Jamoh and Executive Secretary, Nigerian Shippers Council, Emmanuel Jime, among others.
By its size and depth, the Lekki Deep Seaport is expected to be the game changer in West and Central Africa.
Other projects slated for commissioning are the 18.75km six-lane rigid-pavement Eleko Junction to Epe Expressway; the John Randle Centre for Yoruba Culture and History; and the MRS Lubricant Factory in Apapa
Buhari, on arrival with the Lagos State Governor, Bababjide Sanwo-Olu, will be conducted round the port’s 1.5km long main.
The Lekki Deep Seaport made history last year as it received the first-ever vessel (Zhen Hua 28) to berth at the port.
The port has three terminals: the container terminal, the liquid terminal, and the dry bulk terminal.
According to the promoters, the container terminal has an initial draft of 14 metres, with the potential for further dredging to 16.5 metres. The terminal is able to handle 2.5 million 20-foot standard containers per year.
The deep-sea port of Lekki is the first port in Nigeria with ship-to-shore cranes. It has three of these container gantry cranes; they belong to the “Super-post-Panamax” group – this means that they can reach and unload the rearmost row of containers even if the container ship is wider than the Panama Canal (49m or 160ft maximum boat beam).
The STS cranes have a fixed rail at the quayside. They can lift 65 tons in twin-lift mode, 50 tons in single-lift mode or 85 tons under a hook.
