Nigeria’s Lekki Deep Seaport has marked a significant milestone to begin its international transshipment of cargo to neighboring West African countries, including Togo, Benin Republic, Ghana, and Côte d’Ivoire.
According to media reports, the strategic move is expected to boost Nigeria’s competitiveness in global trade and strengthen its role in West Africa’s maritime logistics network.
This is even as it disclosed that it is targeting to achieve about 500,000 Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) on or before the last quarter of 2025.
The port’s capacity to handle international transhipment cargo is expected to boost trade and economic growth in the region.
With its state-of-the-art facilities and strategic location, Lekki Port is poised to become a major hub for maritime trade in West Africa.
According to the Daily Trust, the port has already started receiving cargo from international shipping lines, with plans to expand its services to other countries in the region.
The Port business outlook in the last two years shows that the Port ramped up operations from 287,000 TEUs in 2024 to 500,000 TEUs by the end of 2025.
Speaking to journalists on Thursday in Lagos, the Deputy Chief Operation Officer of the Port, Mr. Daniel Odibe, said the Port is still targeting more international transhipment with other West African countries.
However, he said out of 1.2 million TEUs capacity, the Port is currently handling only about 20 per cent of its projected cargo throughput.
Though, he attributed the shortfall to prevailing economic challenges that have impacted the port’s operations in recent times.
He stated further that the removal of fuel subsidies and Naira depreciation initially caused a decline in imports, impacting cargo volumes at the Lekki Port. However, he said the port is now seeing a gradual recovery in cargo volumes.
He also revealed the port processed 222,000 TEUs in the first half of 2025, indicating a positive trend despite earlier challenges.
