President Bola Tinubu secured an investment of $600 million from Danish shipping and logistics company, A.P Moller-Maersk, to expand existing port infrastructure to accommodate more container shipping services in Nigerian ports.
Chairman of A.P Moller-Maersk, Mr. Robert Maersk Uggla, made
the investment public during a meeting with Tinubu at the World Economic Forum
Special Meeting on Global Collaboration, Growth and Energy for Development in
Riyadh.
According to Uggla, “We believe in Nigeria, and we will
invest $600 million in existing facilities and make the ports accommodating for
bigger ships.
”In my humble view, given that Nigeria is the most populous
country in Africa, Nigeria should have the best and biggest port and we are
very eager to invest, and we will continue that dialogue with the relevant
Nigerian authorities to explore further investment opportunities.”
Highlighting Maersk’s longstanding engagement in Africa’s
most populous country and his belief in the future of Nigeria, Uggla said his
company had made significant investments running to over $2 billion in Nigerian
ports and other activities.
He emphasised the potential for Nigerian ports to
accommodate larger container ships and stressed the need for expanding port
infrastructure to meet this demand while reducing the cost of logistics.
Uggla stated, ”We have seen a significant opportunity for
Nigeria to cater for larger container ships. Historically, most of the West
African coasts are already served by smaller ships. Currently, we see an
opportunity to deploy larger ships to Nigeria.
“To achieve this, we need to expand the port infrastructure,
especially in Lagos, where we need a bigger hub for logistics services. The
growth potential is hard to quantify.”
Responding, Tinubu noted that the $600 million investment
would complement the administration’s ongoing $1 billion investment in seaport
reconstruction across the eastern and western seaports of Nigeria.
Tinubu added that it would further support the country’s
port modernisation efforts and port process automation through his
administration’s implementation of the national single window project, which is
aimed at enhancing trade facilitation, easing import/export flow, reducing
corruption at the ports, while improving the efficiency and transparency of
port processes in Nigeria.
He said, “We appreciate your business and the contribution
you have made and continue to make to our country’s economy over time. We do
not take our partners for granted. A bet on Nigeria is a winning bet. It is
also a bet that rewards beyond what is obtainable elsewhere.
“More investment opportunities are available, and my
government has worked on various reforms to encourage investments. We need to
encourage more opportunities for revenue expansion and minimise trans-shipments
from larger ships to smaller ships.”
Tinubu assured Maersk of his administration’s commitment to
collaborating and creating an enabling environment for businesses to thrive in
the country.
He cited Maersk’s previous partnership in the development of
the Ogun State container terminal as a testament to fruitful partnerships with
the reputable logistics company.
Tinubu Tells Samsung CEO Nigeria Remains Best Destination
for Money Value
President Bola Tinubu declared that Nigeria’s investment
environment operated on the principle of ‘a willing-buyer and willing-seller’,
which ensured seamless access to capital for investors both within and outside
the country.
Tinubu gave the assurance yesterday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia,
during a meeting with President and Chief Executive Officer of Samsung, Hong
Namkoong, and Chairman of Samsung Investment Global, Jungwook Kim, on the
margins of the World Economic Forum Special Meeting on Global Collaboration,
Growth and Energy for Development.
According to Tinubu, ”Nigeria is a very huge country with a
huge and able population. We have vibrant youths ready to learn and progress.
In fact, our young do not wait for us. They go ahead of us in their
determination to succeed. We must keep up and provide opportunities for them to
excel with.
“We have an infrastructure deficit and you can take
advantage of that and invest early and deeply in an environment that is
absorptive and ready for it. It is modelled after a willing-buyer and
willing-seller arrangement. Easy capital in and easy capital out.”
The president took time to detail the significant
opportunities across sectors for investment within the Renewed Hope
Infrastructure Development Fund, which involved the potential utilisation of
co-finance instruments on critical infrastructure and technology, which Samsung
is well-known to produce.
Tinubu also emphasised the importance of deepening
collaboration in the crude oil, natural gas, renewable energy, engineering,
technology and agriculture sectors. He stated that the potential for vast
private sector participation in the establishment of fully-embedded, off-grid,
cold-chain integration across sub-industries in the agriculture sector to
forestall post-harvest losses with mass refrigeration capacity.
”We are ready to discuss and discover one another more. We
can benefit so much from collaborative effort. You have the know-how, and we
have the willingness. Seize this opportunity.”
The Samsung chairman expressed his company’s interest in
expanding its presence in Nigeria, citing the successes of sister companies
already operating in the country while laying out potential new opportunities
in Nigeria.
He stated, ”We have built many power stations around the
world. We are top of the class in gas-fired power plant construction. We have
an ever-increasing portfolio in the production of renewable energy solutions
around the world. We can make a lot of progress in Nigeria’s energy sector as
well as bringing our technology to other key productive sectors.
”Transmission lines and smart grids are areas where we see
increasing demand globally. You need infrastructure anywhere you go. We are
good at metropolitan rail lines. We are good at bridge construction and any of
these types of infrastructure projects, in addition to oil and gas engineering
projects.
“We are looking forward to knowing Nigeria better under your
leadership and to see how we can penetrate the Nigerian market deeper. This is
a great opportunity for us.”
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