TY logistics park unveils plan to fix Nigeria’s $1.7bn logistics drain

Nigeria’s logistics sector, long burdened by high costs and inefficient systems, may be on the brink of a turnaround as TY Logistics Park, a new Grade-A facility within the Lekki Free Trade Zone, says it is introducing a model that could reverse the country’s estimated $1.7 billion annual logistics losses.

At a media briefing in Lagos, the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Arno van der Merwe, said the park was designed to tackle the structural bottlenecks that have pushed logistics costs in Nigeria to some of the highest in the world.

Van der Merwe listed chronic underinvestment in infrastructure, weak intermodal connections, congested ports, fragmented customs processes, and unreliable warehousing systems as key factors driving the crisis.

He said importers now experience clearance delays of between 18 and 21 days, while many businesses spend as much transporting goods as they do acquiring them.

“These are not isolated challenges; they are structural issues that have accumulated over decades,” he said.

TY Logistics Park seeks to reduce friction by integrating five previously separate logistics segments into one controlled ecosystem: clearing and forwarding, contract logistics, route-to-market planning, free zone operations and digital supply chain visibility.

Van der Merwe said companies can keep inventory within the free zone without paying duties upfront, only paying when consignments are released into the local market. This, he noted, eases the financial pressure on businesses that currently tie down capital on upfront payments.

The first phase of the park covers 100,000 square metres and features high-grade racked warehouses, jointless floors for heavy machinery, green-certified structures, system-driven inventory management and facilities that consume 30 per cent less water and energy.

Additionally, businesses operating within the zone enjoy free zone incentives including zero corporate taxes and full repatriation rights.

“These are features missing in much of Nigeria’s logistics architecture,” he added.

Van der Merwe said the park was built on an “every client matters” principle, ensuring equal attention to both large manufacturers and small exporters.

“A client with two pallets gets the same attention as a client with 10,000 pallets,” he said.

This, he explained, positions the park to support Nigeria’s expanding SME export community, especially in food, beauty, crafts and light manufacturing, seeking entry into US, EU and Asian markets.

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Located within the Lekki Free Trade Zone, the park is positioned 12 minutes from the airport, 40 minutes from Lagos, 50 minutes from Apapa and has direct access to the Lekki Deep Seaport.

The facility expects to handle between 500,000 and one million metric tonnes of cargo annually in its early phase, with capacity to hit two million tonnes as development progresses. Target sectors include pharmaceuticals, automotive, technology, oil and gas, chemicals and fast-moving consumer goods.

TY Logistics Park has already begun servicing parts of the Dangote Refinery and Fertiliser operations, a development the CEO described as “a validation of market confidence.”

Although Van der Merwe has managed logistics operations in Kenya, South Africa and East Africa, he insists the ambition behind the new park is rooted firmly in Nigeria.

“We want to make this a Nigerian story. We’ve invested in the assets. We’re here for the long run,” he said.

If successful, the model could lower logistics costs, attract manufacturers back to the country, strengthen export competitiveness, reclaim cargo currently diverted to neighbouring ports and expand jobs in Lagos and beyond. It also aligns with efforts to boost intra-African trade under AfCFTA.

For an industry often described as Nigeria’s “hidden tax on business,” TY Logistics Park’s entry may signal one of the boldest moves yet to modernise the backbone of the economy.