Lekki Port automated to boost trade

The Lekki Deep Sea Port is now fully automated to boost international trade, satisfy customers, stakeholders and other ports users.

Addressing reporters in Lagos yesterday, its Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Lekki Port LFTZ Enterprise Limited, Mr. Wang Qiang, urged importers, clearing agents and stakeholders, including government agencies operating  at the port to key into end-to-end digital processes available at  their terminal to boost quick cargo clearance and facilitate international trade.

He noted that Customs procedures, particularly physical cargo examinations, and other port services must be fully digitalised to significantly reduce cargo dwell time and facilitate cago clearance.

He said: “For automation to work efficiently, all players must be ready – customers, government and every stakeholder. Only then can we have a fantastic system.”

He also stressed that improved connectivity would allow the port to effectively double capacity through performance optimisation without expanding its physical footprint.

Commenting on the new tax regime expected to take effect in 2026, he urged the government to adopt a simplified tax framework that supports ease of doing business. He cited Germany and other countries where goods are cleared from ports with a 30-day window allowed for value added tax (VAT) remittance.

Findings have shown that between Q1 and Q3 2025, Lekki Port handled an estimated N13.46 trillion in total trade value, combining imports and exports, making it Nigeria’s second-largest port by trade value. This figure places is well ahead of Tin Can Island Port’s N9.31 trillion and almost double the N6.76 trillion recorded at Port Harcourt (Onne).

“We already reached 50 per cent of our capacity now – almost 50 per cent of the port capacity,” he said, noting consistent improvement in the number of twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) handled monthly.

Qiang, however, emphasised that efficient multimodal connectivity remains critical to sustaining and accelerating growth at the port, revealing that barge operations have become an important evacuation channel and currently account for about 10 per cent of cargo movement from the port.

Qiang added that the ongoing Lagos–Calabar Coastal Road project would help ease congestion and improve access to the port but stressed that rail connectivity remains essential, particularly given the scale of industrial activities emerging within the Lekki corridor.

“I believe the train option is something the government is concerned about, and with the level of industrial activities in this region, we expect that it will be provided,” Qiang said.

Also, the Chief Executive Officer of Lekki Freeport Terminal (LFT), Capt Jedrzej Mierzewski added that after only two years of operations, LFT has already become the number two terminal in the Nigerian market.

“We are the fastest-growing terminal in the country, combining modern infrastructure, operational excellence, and a clear ambition to become a leading transshipment hub for West Africa.

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“Our growth supports the Nigerian economy by strengthening trade connectivity and helping to reduce the cost of foreign trade through efficient, reliable, and competitive port services,” Mierzewski said.