CALABAR — President Bola Tinubu has flagged off construction of the Bakassi Deep Seaport in Cross River State, a project first conceived in 2014 that state officials say will ease pressure on Lagos ports and open a new trade corridor in the Gulf of Guinea.
Vice President Kashim Shettima represented the president at the groundbreaking in Bakassi on Friday, 13 November. In a statement issued by the Vice President’s media office, Tinubu described the port as “a defining milestone in Nigeria’s economic diversification” and said it would open new commercial corridors, stimulate industrialisation and create jobs, the Cross River State government reported.
The project
The port is designed with a 20-metre draft so it can take large vessels that currently bypass Nigerian ports, and will be linked to a 260-kilometre superhighway to move cargo inland, according to TVC News.
Two figures have been used for its cost. The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is acting as mandated lead arranger and financial adviser on a $3.5 billion package, Afreximbank’s Kanayo Awani said at the ceremony, Daily Post reported. Governor Bassey Otu said the Federal Executive Council had approved the project with an initial funding commitment of $2.27 billion, to be delivered as a public-private partnership. The difference appears to reflect the total package versus the first approved phase; the state has not published a detailed breakdown.
Otu said the state had completed environmental impact, hydrographic, geotechnical and geophysical surveys and secured federal approvals. He invited investors into shipping, logistics, fishing and shipbuilding.
Why it matters for trade
Shettima said the port would ease congestion at Lagos, reduce the cost of moving goods and help Nigeria retain cargo now diverted to neighbouring countries. Lagos ports handle the bulk of Nigeria’s container traffic, and truck queues on access roads have for years added cost and delay for importers and exporters.
The project is also expected to complement the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, Sahara Reporters noted.
Questions still open
Nigeria has seen several port projects announced and then stall, and the Bakassi plan itself waited more than a decade for financing. Key details, including the private concessionaire, the construction timeline and how much of the Afreximbank package is debt versus equity, have not been made public. The ceremony also took place during campaigning for the January 2027 general elections, which may sharpen scrutiny of delivery.
What it means for African readers
A deep-water port in the south-east could shorten routes for cargo bound for eastern Nigeria and for Cameroon and Central Africa, supporting trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area. For importers and logistics businesses, real gains will depend on road and rail links, customs efficiency and digital port systems, not just the quay. Watch for the concession agreement, financial close and the first construction contracts.
Local residents are being trained for roles in building and running the port, according to USAfrica Online, a step meant to help host communities in Bakassi share in the benefits. How compensation and resettlement are handled will be an early test of that promise.
