LEKKI PORT, Nigeria: April 16, 2018. CMA CGM and Lekki Port LFTZ Enterprise have signed an Memorandum of Agreement to operate the country’s first deep-sea container terminal at the Lekki Deep Sea Port, 65 kilometers east of Lagos.

CMA Terminals will be responsible for marketing, operations and maintenance of the new facility due to open in 2020 with an eventual annual capacity of 2.5 million TEU.

The China Harbour Engineering Company, through its subsidiary China Harbour Engineering LFTZ Enterprise, is responsible for constructing the container terminal’s marine and landside infrastructure. When complete, it will have a 1,200-meter quay and 13 cranes to accommodate vessels up to 14,000 TEUs.

Nigeria’s first deep-sea port and the deepest port in Sub-Saharan Africa designed to relieve congestion at Lagos, is being built and operated by LPLE, a joint venture led by the Singapore-based Tolaram Group, together with the Lagos State government and the Nigerian Ports Authority.

The port will be located in the Lagos Free Trade Zone (LFTZ) being developed by the Tolaram Group as a multi-product and logistics hub for the West Africa region. When complete it will cover an area of nearly 2,000 acres and is expected to support petroleum and petrochemical facilities, agri-commodity businesses and general manufacturing, according to the company.

Navin Nahata, Lekki Port LFTZ Enterprise CEO commented: “We are excited about this development because CMA Terminals is a world class port operator and can be relied upon to provide international port standard delivery services at par with most modern ports around the world to the Nigerian port customers.”

CMA CGM said the Lekki container terminal would allow it to expand its presence in West Africa’s first consumer market and serve as a transshipment hub to neighboring countries including Togo and Benin.