NPA tilts investment East to revive underused ports

The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) says it is investing in upgrades at the country’s eastern ports and consulting deep seaport developers, with the hope of attracting more ships and cargo to its underused facilities.

Abubakar Dantsoho, the managing director of the authority, disclosed this “renewed investment” at the Enugu International Trade Fair over the weekend, stating that the effort aims to better connect exporters from the South-East to international markets.

This comes amid longstanding concerns over the concentration of cargo traffic in Lagos, which has left facilities in Onne, Warri, and Calabar operating below their potential due to weaker vessel calls and limited throughput.

Dantsoho said the authority is providing technical input to the developers of proposed deep seaports to support expansion, although details on specific projects, timelines, and funding were not disclosed.

“We are providing bespoke technical guidance to proponents of deep seaports in a bid to drive vessel and cargo traffic to the Eastern flank,” he said.

The NPA also explained plans to simplify export processes through the Export Process Terminals (EPTs), designed to serve as collection and consolidation hubs for outbound cargo. 

The terminals are expected to handle documentation, packaging, certification and shipment coordination in one location, reducing delays linked to fragmented procedures.

The reforms are tied to the National Single Window which went live on Friday to digitise interactions across the trade value chain and reduce human interface in port operations. The system is widely seen as a solution to solving Nigeria’s port uncompetitiveness.