By Ndubuisi Anaenugwu|
BVI Channel 1 Online
Nigeria’s maritime map is set for another major expansion in the South-West, following the signing of agreements for the development of the proposed Gateway Deep Seaport in Ogun State and a 10,000-hectare Blue Marine Special Economic Zone.
The Ogun State Government and global ports and logistics operator, DP World, signed the Memoranda of Understanding in Paris on Thursday, September 24, 2026, in an investment package valued at more than $7 billion. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu witnessed the signing.
The proposed Gateway Deep Seaport, to be located in Ogun Waterside, is planned with a four-kilometre berth and an 18-metre draft, allowing it to accommodate larger vessels. The Presidency says the project is expected to help decongest the Lagos port corridor, ease pressure on Apapa and Tin Can Island ports and reduce logistics costs and delays.
At full development, the two projects are projected to attract more than $7 billion in initial investment and create over 50,000 direct jobs, in addition to indirect employment and opportunities across manufacturing, logistics, maritime services and exports.
President Tinubu described the agreements as part of efforts to expand Nigeria’s productive capacity and strengthen the country’s position as a hub for maritime trade, manufacturing, logistics and exports.
He also assured investors that the Federal Government would provide regulatory and institutional support, as well as facilitate road, rail and power connectivity and remove unnecessary bureaucratic obstacles.
The development is particularly significant because the Lekki Deep Sea Port in Lagos is already operational, while the Ogun project is now being advanced through a major investment agreement with DP World.
The Ogun project is also designed differently from a stand-alone port. It is expected to be integrated with the proposed 10,000-hectare Blue Marine Special Economic Zone, where manufacturing, processing and export-oriented activities are expected to take place.
The Presidency has described the concept in simple economic terms: a port moves cargo, but a port connected to an industrial zone can become part of a wider production and export ecosystem.
However ,this new development has made the South Western part of Nigeria concentrated with Sea Ports- Six in number as listed below:
1.Lagos Port Complex (Apapa) – Apapa, Lagos((Operational)
2.Tin Can Island Port Complex – Apapa, Lagos((Operational)
3.Lekki Deep Sea Port – Lekki, Lagos (Operational)
4. Badagry Deep Sea Port in Lagos(Still being developed)
5. Ondo Deep Sea Port( Still being developed)
6. Ogun Deep Sea Port (Still being developed)
But where is the South-East in Nigeria’s seaport development?
The latest Ogun announcement inevitably raises a regional development question: when will the South-East have a major modern deep-sea port of its own?
The South East particularly at Azumiri/Obuaku in Abia State and Oseakwa/Urashi in Imo State have great economic corridors for development of a viable Seaports . Many have argued that South East is landlocked and therefore a dot in a circle with no coastline . These people promoted the argument that a major seaport would require coastal locations which South East do not have ,therefore , no investor will stake his hard earned money in the development of a landlocked South East Sea port. South East Region is strongly advised to use the nearest sea port at Onne, Rivers State and Calaber Port in Cross Rivers State to serve its large market.
The distinction, therefore, is between having access to ports in the wider eastern region and having a strategically located modern deep-sea port specifically developed around the economic needs of the South-East. An operational Seaport in South East is long overdue as Sea port attracts several opportunities on a large scale.
We should note that transportation costs, road congestion and distance from major ports can influence where industries locate and how competitive goods become in domestic and international markets.
The South-East is one of Nigeria’s major commercial and industrial regions, with strong concentrations of trading, manufacturing, agro-processing and small and medium-sized enterprises.
A modern maritime gateway connected by efficient highways and rail to cities such as Onitsha, Nnewi, Aba, Owerri and Enugu could potentially reduce the logistics burden on businesses importing machinery and raw materials or exporting manufactured and agricultural products.
The question is therefore not simply about constructing another port.
It is about whether Nigeria’s port-development strategy should deliberately create multiple integrated maritime-industrial corridors, rather than concentrating the largest concentration of new investments in the Lagos–Ogun axis.
The Federal Government’s argument for the Ogun project is that Nigeria needs more port capacity, better logistics and stronger connections to the African Continental Free Trade Area. Those objectives are national rather than exclusively regional.
The same logic can be applied to the South-East.
If a new port is economically justified in Ogun because it can support manufacturing, exports, logistics and an industrial zone, policymakers and investors could also examine whether a comparable eastern maritime-industrial corridor would be economically viable.
Such a discussion would need to consider existing ports, proposed projects, cargo volumes, road and rail connectivity, environmental factors, financing, navigation channels and the commercial viability of any proposed location.
The South-East does not merely need political declarations about ports. It needs a concrete, commercially viable maritime strategy, backed by feasibility studies, private investment, federal support and the infrastructure required to connect any eastern maritime gateway to the region’s industrial centres.Thankfully ,Gov Alex Otti has contracted a Chinese Film to conduct a feasibility study on the viability of a Deep Seaport at Azumiri.
As Ogun moves another major seaport proposal forward with a reported $7 billion-plus investment framework, the question for the South-East is increasingly straightforward:
When will the region’s enormous commercial and industrial potential be matched by a modern maritime gateway capable of connecting its businesses directly and efficiently to Nigerian and global markets?
Anaenugwu Ndubuisi
BVI Channel 1 Online
