Nigeria approves $1b port upgrade after Chagoury’s firm win

More than six months after awarding the long-awaited Lagos ports renovation project to ITB Nigeria, a subsidiary of the Chagoury Group—owned by Nigerian-Lebanese billionaire Gilbert Chagoury—Nigeria’s Federal Government has approved a sum of N1.4 trillion ($1 billion) for the modernization of the Apapa and TinCan Island seaports in Lagos.

Nigeria targets efficiency with port modernization

The Apapa and Tin Can Island ports handle the majority of Nigeria’s imports and exports. The modernization plan aims to expand capacity, improve cargo handling and bring operations in line with international standards. The initiative is part of the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy’s 10-year development strategy designed to boost efficiency and attract private investment into Nigeria’s maritime sector.

Announcing the decision at the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport Conference in Lagos, Minister Adegboyega Oyetola said the government is working with partners across the industry to create a paperless, technology-driven port environment. “Our goal is to enhance efficiency, reduce turnaround time, and curb corruption,” he said.

Nigeria’s ports have long struggled with congestion, poor road access and outdated infrastructure. In December 2023 Oyetola identified 15 major access roads—including those leading to Tin Can Island, Calabar, Delta and Onne ports—that required urgent rehabilitation. He noted that similar modernization plans would extend beyond Lagos to ensure balanced growth across the country’s coastal regions.

Chagoury Group broadens Nigeria’s economic footprint

The $1 billion approval builds on the earlier contract awarded to ITB Nigeria, a construction arm of the Chagoury Group, owned by Gilbert Chagoury. The deal adds to Chagoury’s growing portfolio of large-scale infrastructure projects, including the 700-kilometer Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, being built by another of his companies, Hitech Construction.

Since founding the Chagoury Group in 1971 with his brother Ronald, Chagoury has built one of Nigeria’s most diversified private conglomerates, spanning construction, real estate, flour milling, water treatment, glass manufacturing, insurance, hospitality, and telecommunications.

Eko Atlantic City, an urban development that is being built on reclaimed land along the Lagos coastline, is one of his most ambitious projects. Eko Atlantic City is already presenting itself as Lagos’s future commercial hub, attracting major companies to its orbit. It was built to house hundreds of thousands of residents and workers.