Lekki Deep Sea port reaches half of its designed operational capacity

The Managing Director, Lekki Port LFTZ Enterprise Ltd., Mr Wang Qiang, says the port has reached half of its designed operational capacity, with steady growth in container throughput since September 2025.

Qiang made the disclosure during an end of the year media parley with journalists on Tuesday in Lagos.

He said that the port was now operating at close to 50 per cent capacity, reflecting increasing confidence by shipping lines and cargo owners in Nigeria’s first deep seaport.

“We already reached 50 per cent of our capacity now, almost 50 per cent of the port capacity.

“There is consistent improvement in the number of 20ft equivalent units (TEUs) handled monthly,” He said

Qiang explained further that efficient multimodal connectivity remains critical to sustaining and accelerating growth at the port.

According to him, barge operations have become an important evacuation channel and currently account for about 10 per cent of cargo movement from the port.

The Managing Director, Lekki Free Trade (LFT), Capt. Jedrzej Mierzewski, said that the ongoing Lagos–Calabar Coastal Road project would help ease congestion and improve access to the port.

He said that rail connectivity remained essential, particularly given the scale of industrial activities emerging within the Lekki corridor.

He said that Nigeria Government was concerned about the cargoes moving through rail and that the development would enhance more cargoes distribution outside the port.

Mierzewski reiterated that Lekki port was a fully automated terminal, noting that delays may persist until all stakeholders, including government agencies, fully aligned with end-to-end digital processes.

He explained that customs procedures, particularly physical cargo examinations, and other port services should be fully digitalised to significantly reduce cargo dwell time.

“We must work together very closely with customers and all categories of operations for automation to yield results.

“Integration between the customs system, the terminal operating system and customers is already part of an agreed implementation schedule.

“For automation to work efficiently, all players must be ready — customers, government and every stakeholder. Only then can we have a fantastic system,” he said.

He also stressed that improved connectivity would allow the port to effectively double capacity through performance optimisation without expanding its physical footprint.

The media tour included visits to the Customs examination area, scanners and shipside operations within the terminal, monitoring 24 hours cargo clearance with World-class infrastructure.