President Muhamnadu Buhari, on Monday, inaugurated the Lekki deep seaport and Imota rice mill projects in Lagos.
The deep seaport was completed in 2022, with a promise from the state government that commercial operations would commence in 2023.
The project, constructed by China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd (CHEC), occupies 90 hectares out of the entire 830 hectares of land reserved for the Lagos Free Zone (LFZ) the Cable News reports.
Situated in Lagos’ commercial centre, the deep seaport will allow 18,000 TEU capacity vessels, which are four times bigger than the ones berthing at Apapa seaports, thereby reducing the cost of container transportation from any part of the world.
On the other hand, the Imota project is a 32-metric-tonnes-per-hour rice mill built by the state to tackle food insecurity in the country.
With a capacity of 2.8 million bags of 50kg bags of rice yearly, the project is expected to generate 1,500 direct jobs; and 254,000 indirect jobs.
Speaking at the inauguration, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Lagos governor, said efforts would be made to ensure that the Lekki deep seaport is free from traffic and commuting frustration.
He added that the seaport would reduce unemployment in the country.
“This magnificent infrastructure is a result of the combined efforts of the Federal Government, Lagos State Government, and the private sector. It is going to generate thousands of jobs for citizens of Nigeria,” the governor said.
Meanwhile, Buhari is expected to commission the John Randle Centre for Yoruba Culture and History, and the groundbreaking for the blue line rail phase 2 , today, Tuesday, January 24.
