ABUJA (Reuters) – Nigeria has received a $600 million investment in seaport infrastructure from Danish shipping company AP Moller-Maersk, the president said in a statement on Sunday.
The investment was secured during a meeting between President Bola Tinubu and Moller-Maersk Chairman Robert Maerska Uggla on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Saudi Arabia.
“We believe in Nigeria and we will invest $600 million in existing facilities and make the ports suitable for larger ships,” Uggla was quoted as saying by the Nigerian president during the meeting.
Nigeria has vowed to upgrade its ports, including in the commercial capital Lagos, to ease congestion that is hampering business.
Tinubu said during the meeting that his government would support the modernization and automation of its ports to improve trade, reduce corruption and increase efficiency.
“Betting on Nigeria is a winning bet. It is also a bet that will bring more benefits than can be achieved elsewhere,” he said. “We need to encourage more opportunities to increase revenue and minimize transshipment from larger ships to smaller ships.”