KEY POINTS

• Nigeria approves $1 billion to go to the Apapa and Tin Can Island ports.
• ITB Nigeria, part of Chagoury Group, to lead renovation.
• The goal of the project is to increase capacity and make port operations digital.

Nigeria’s Federal Government has approved N1.4 trillion ($1 billion) for the modernization of the Apapa and Tin Can Island seaports in Lagos, more than six months after awarding the renovation contract to ITB Nigeria, a subsidiary of the Chagoury Group owned by billionaire Gilbert Chagoury.

The two ports handle most of Nigeria’s marine traffic, which is very important for the country’s economy. The goal of the modernization plan is to increase capacity, make cargo handling better, and bring operations up to international standards.

It also forms part of the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy’s 10-year development roadmap to improve logistics efficiency and attract private investment into the sector.

Nigeria targets efficiency with port modernization

While speaking at the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport Conference in Lagos, Minister Adegboyega Oyetola said the project will deliver a technology-driven, paperless port environment. “Our goal is to enhance efficiency, reduce turnaround time, and curb corruption,” he said.

Nigeria’s ports have long battled congestion, aging infrastructure, and poor access roads that slow trade and inflate logistics costs.

Oyetola said the government is also prioritizing rehabilitation of key routes linking Tin Can Island, Calabar, Delta, and Onne ports, noting that modernization plans will extend beyond Lagos to promote balanced regional growth.

Chagoury Group expands infrastructure influence

The port overhaul deepens the Chagoury Group’s footprint in Nigeria’s infrastructure sector. The federal government approved the $1 billion project after awarding the contract to ITB Nigeria, the group’s construction subsidiary.

Furthermore, the port modernization approval adds to the group’s growing portfolio of megaprojects, including the 700-kilometer Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway being executed by Hitech Construction, another Chagoury company.

Founded in 1971 by Gilbert and Ronald Chagoury, the Chagoury Group has evolved into one of Nigeria’s most diversified conglomerates with interests spanning construction, real estate, flour milling, water treatment, glass manufacturing, hospitality, insurance, and telecommunications.

Eko Atlantic City, a futuristic mixed-use complex developed on reclaimed land along the Lagos coast, is one of its most famous projects. In conclusion, Billionaires Africa says the city, which is meant to hold hundreds of thousands of people and enterprises, has set itself up as Lagos’s next major business center, attracting corporations and investors from all over the world.