FIC REPORT (OGUN STATE) – The Ogun State Government and DP World MEA FZE have signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) for the development of the Gateway Deep Seaport and the 10,000-hectare Ogun State Blue Marine Special Economic Zone.
The projects are expected to attract more than seven billion dollars in initial investment and create over 50,000 direct jobs at full development.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu witnessed the signing in Paris, France, alongside the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Mr Adegboyega Oyetola, and the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Dr Abubakar Dantsoho.
Speaking at the ceremony, President Tinubu said the two projects would address long-standing infrastructure and logistics constraints, decongest the Lagos port corridor and strengthen Nigeria’s capacity for maritime trade, manufacturing and export.
“We are doing more than signing agreements; we are laying the foundation for a new chapter in Nigeria’s development,” Tinubu said.
He said the Gateway Deep Seaport, planned for Ogun Waterside, would feature a four-kilometre berth and an 18-metre draft, positioning it to handle larger vessels and reduce costs and delays for importers and exporters at Apapa and Tin Can Island Ports.
The President said the port would be integrated with the Blue Marine Special Economic Zone to support manufacturing, processing and export-oriented industries. “A port moves cargo; a port integrated with a special economic zone helps to build an economy. Each reinforces the other,” he said.
Tinubu said imported inputs would be transformed into finished goods within the zone, while Nigerian raw materials would be processed for export, thereby expanding the country’s non-oil export base and providing a competitive trade gateway for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) with a market of about 1.4 billion people. He identified the 28-kilometre Ogun section of the 700-kilometre Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, scheduled for completion before the end of the year, as critical to the commercial viability of the corridor.
The corridor, he added, would also connect with strategic investments including the proposed Nigerian Navy Operating Base and Dockyard and the OK LNG Project. Tinubu described the investment as a practical expression of economic diversification and industrialisation under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
“This is economic diversification made tangible. This is industrialisation made visible. This is Renewed Hope in action,” he said. He assured investors of regulatory clarity, policy stability and federal support for road, rail and power connectivity, while stressing that agreements must translate into delivery. “Agreements must lead to action; commitments must translate into investment; investment must deliver projects; and projects must create jobs, opportunity and prosperity,” the President said.
In his remarks, Gov. Dapo Abiodun of Ogun described the signing as a defining moment in the economic history of the state and Nigeria’s engagement with the global economy. Abiodun said the deep seaport vision had remained largely unrealised for more than three decades. “It has taken the foresight, courage and dogged leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to move it from aspiration to reality,” he said.
He said the project was part of a broader strategy to deepen trade, attract investment and strengthen Nigeria’s maritime economy, adding that it would stimulate small and medium enterprises, strengthen supply chains and attract foreign direct investment. “Our ambition is not merely to berth ships. We are building a gateway for Ogun and Nigeria’s productive strength to reach Africa and the world,” Abiodun said.
The governor said the development would form part of a wider multimodal infrastructure network incorporating the Gateway International Airport, dry ports, the coastal highway and the deep seaport. “History will judge us not by the elegance of documents signed, but by the transformation that follows. Ceremonies proclaim intentions; only implementation creates prosperity,” he said.
He commended Oyetola, the NPA and other federal institutions for their support, and assured DP World and other partners of Ogun’s readiness for business, while stressing host-community participation, environmental sustainability and security.
The agreements bring together the Federal Government, Ogun State Government, DP World, financial advisers Sky Capital and other private-sector partners in a major investment framework aimed at easing trade bottlenecks and expanding Nigeria’s manufacturing and export capacity.
Sourced by
Shittu Hammed O
CIO/PRO
FIC, Abeokuta
25/09/2026
