Tinubu seals £746m UK deal for Lagos ports upgrade
President Bola Tinubu on Thursday witnessed the signing of a £746 million financing agreement in London aimed at overhauling Nigeria’s busiest seaports in Lagos.
The deal, signed between the Federal Ministry of Finance led by Wale Edun and Citi Bank, is expected to modernise the Apapa and Tin Can Island ports, long plagued by congestion and operational inefficiencies.
Officials say the project is designed to ease traffic bottlenecks, improve cargo handling speed and ultimately strengthen Nigeria’s trade capacity, especially as the country looks to position itself as a regional logistics hub.
The signing took place on the sidelines of Tinubu’s ongoing state visit to the United Kingdom, where he has been engaging top British officials and investors on economic cooperation and infrastructure development.
The President, alongside First Lady Oluremi Tinubu, had earlier been received with full ceremonial honours, including a state banquet hosted by King Charles III at Windsor Castle.
The financing agreement is seen as one of the major economic outcomes of the visit, with expectations that the port upgrade will boost efficiency, reduce turnaround time for vessels and support Nigeria’s import and export chain.
With Nigeria’s ports under increasing pressure from rising trade volumes, the success of the project is expected to play a critical role in easing supply chain constraints and improving the ease of doing business in the country.
