President Bola Tinubu on Friday flagged off the construction of the $3.5 billion Bakassi Deep Seaport in Cross River State, reviving a project that had suffered years of delays and which the federal government says will expand Nigeria’s maritime capacity.
The groundbreaking ceremony took place in Bakassi, with Vice-President Kashim Shettima representing Mr Tinubu. The president described the project as a strategic investment that could diversify the economy and position Nigeria as a major hub for maritime trade.
The project is expected to include a deep seaport with a 20-metre draft and a 260-kilometre superhighway to evacuate cargo to other parts of the country, Stanley Nkwocha, a senior special assistant to the president in the office of the vice president, said in a statement on Friday.
Mr Tinubu said the port would reduce the concentration of Nigeria’s foreign trade through Lagos and create opportunities for other coastal states.
“There is a rumour I hear in some corners. That the West, Lagos, or Abuja never wanted a port to work anywhere outside Lagos. If that were true, would I be standing here today with a shovel in my hand?” he said.
He added: “Lagos is our elder brother in trade. No country eats with one hand. No country carries all its load on one shoulder. That shoulder will break.”
According to the president, more than 80 per cent of Nigeria’s foreign trade currently passes through Lagos, a situation he said could cause congestion, delayed shipments and higher prices.
“This project is not against Lagos. It is for Nigeria. When Lagos is free, Nigeria breathes. When Calabar works, Nigeria walks on two legs,” he said.
Mr Tinubu said the port was first conceived during the colonial era and re-engineered in 2014, with its Environmental and Social Impact Assessment completed in March 2015. He said the project later stalled before Cross River Governor Bassey Otu revived efforts to secure its implementation.
The president said the state secured $3.5 billion in financing from the African Export-Import Bank and formalised a public-private partnership arrangement in February 2025.
“Today, the Federal Government is standing fully behind it. This is beyond a Cross River dream. It is a Nigerian project,” he said.
Mr Tinubu said Nigeria’s blue economy could generate $44 billion annually if the country captured cargo traffic currently moving through neighbouring countries. He urged residents to support the project and protect it from political interference.
Otu recounts hurdles
Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Otu said the project had faced political, environmental and legal obstacles before the Tinubu administration supported its revival.
“When this project was conceived by the immediate past administration in the state some years ago, its implementation was encumbered by political, environmental, and legal bottlenecks. Arising from this hurdle, our hope of realising the project was dimmed until President Tinubu took over the mantle of leadership of Nigeria,” the governor said.
He said the president approved additional marine corridors, including the Bakassi port, as well as the expansion and upgrade of existing seaports.
According to Mr Otu, the initiative would give coastal states a greater role in the national economy by diversifying economic activities and strengthening their revenue base.
Mr Otu said his administration completed technical and regulatory processes before securing final approval for the Bakassi project.
“We carried out an environmental impact assessment, conducted and obtained a report of the hydrographic, geotechnical, and geophysical surveys. We also secured a federal executive council approval for the project with a $2.27 billion initial funding,” he said.
He said the project would be executed through a public-private partnership and stimulate investment in logistics, trade, fishing, shipping, tourism and shipbuilding.
The governor also said the state was preparing local workers for the construction and operation phases.
“While we cannot rule out the need for foreign technical expertise in the construction of the seaport, we are conscious of the need to complement the same with our indigenous manpower,” he said.
He added that selected Cross River residents were undergoing specialised skills training, with the aim of transferring the knowledge to more people in the state.
Economic prospects
The Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, Abubakar Dantsoho, said the port could strengthen trade links between Nigeria and landlocked countries, including Chad, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso.
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The African Export-Import Bank also backed the project. Its president, George Elombi, represented by the bank’s Executive Vice-President for Intra-African Trade and Export Development, Kanayo Awani, said the investment could expand port capacity and facilitate trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area.
Mr Tinubu said the port would accommodate large vessels that cannot currently access some Nigerian ports, while the planned highway would connect cargo to markets across the country.
At the African Sub-Sovereign Governments Network Investment Conference in Calabar on Friday, Mr Shettima urged state governments to identify their competitive advantages, prepare bankable projects and attract private capital.
He said development depends on implementation at the subnational level, where infrastructure connects producers to markets and businesses create jobs.
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