FG Approves Upgrades to Four Ports Outside Lagos

Nigeria has approved upgrades to four ports outside Lagos as it expands a renewal programme that already covers Apapa and Tin Can Island. Marine and Blue Economy Minister Adegboyega Oyetola said the latest approval includes the Onne, Rivers, Delta and Calabar ports.

The government says the work is intended to broaden maritime capacity and ease pressure on Lagos. Oyetola said modernised facilities could handle cargo more effectively, shorten vessels’ time in port and improve the reliability of goods movement.

No project cost, funding source, construction timetable or sequence for the four sites has been announced. The approval also came without quantified targets for cargo volumes or vessel turnaround times, leaving businesses without dates against which to assess the expected improvement.

The ministry’s broader plan links ports with roads, railways and inland waterways. It includes development of several deep-sea ports in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Bayelsa, Ogun and Rivers states, alongside upgrades to existing facilities.

For importers, exporters and logistics operators, benefits will depend on execution: moving from approval to funded contracts and connecting port gates to inland routes. Until project scopes and schedules are published, the announcement signals policy direction rather than a measurable change in shipping costs or transit times.

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