DP World and Ogun State eye new Nigeria deep-sea port

DP World is taking its Jebel Ali model to Nigeria: Dubai-based operator DP World and Nigeria’s Ogun State signed an MoU to build the Gateway Deep Sea Port alongside Blue Marine, a 10k-hectare industrial zone, with the two projects pegged at more than USD 7 bn in initial investment, Nigeria’s State House says. The port is planned with a 4-km berth and an 18-meter draft, deep enough to accommodate vessels that neighboring, congested ports around Lagos can’t handle.

Why it matters: The industrial land is what sets this apart from another port agreement. Blue Marine is meant for manufacturers and export businesses so that goods can be made right where they ship. Ogun says openly that it wants its own Jebel Ali, with deepwater access and industrial land built at the same time, Al Bayan reports.

The road that ties it together already has UAE money behind it: The 28-km Ogun stretch of the 700-km Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway will link the port and the zone to Lagos, the hinterland, and the wider region, alongside a planned airport and dry ports. First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) and Afreximbank closed a USD 1.1 bn facility earlier this year for the highway — with USD 626 mn from FAB and USD 500 mn from Afreximbank — to connect the existing Lekki Deep Sea Port. If Gateway is built, the same corridor would serve both ports.

Ogun has watched a big project slip away before, so delivery is the test. A port and refinery project earmarked for the state was held up for c. 3.5 years before it went to Lagos instead, Dangote Group President Aliko Dangote told Business Insider Africa.

Nigeria is the latest stop in DP World’s Africa push: DP World said in 2024 it planned to put nearly USD 3 bn into African port infrastructure over three to five years. Since then, it has moved ahead with a 222-hectare industrial park near Mombasa and continued expanding its Dar es Salaam terminal.