Imports and exports continue to f low more smoothly through West Africa as new port developments come on stream.Southernmost is the Nigerian first deepwater port of Lekki.With 13 quay cranes, it can move 2.5 million TEUs a year on a 1.2-kilometre quay with a depth of 16 metres.It can handle vessels of up to 15 000 TEUs. The first commercial vessel berthed on April 1. According to the managing director/CEO of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mohammed Bello-Koko, Lekki will attract Nigerian cargo which was being routed through the Benin Republic, Togo and Ghana.The port is described as a “game changer”, and Bello-Koko told journalists that Lekki had the systems in place to clear cargo within two days. Just 450 kilometres by road to the north, the Ghanaian port of Tema is also being expanded.The first two berths in Phase 1 went operational in June 2019.It can accommodate 22 000-TEU vessels and has increased Ghana’s container handling capacity to 3.7m TEUs a year.Work has started on Phase 2, which will see the yard expanded, administration buildings added, and the power generation plant upgraded. Another 560 kilometres to the north, the construction of a second container terminal in the port of Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, was completed in November 2022 as part of a $993m upgrade.It can now handle vessels of up to 14 000 TEUs, with a draught of 16 metres. The joint venture between Bollore and APM Terminals is expected to increase container traffic from 1.2m TEUs a year to three million, according to port authorities.Some 2 400 kilometres further north, the Port of Dakar in Senegal is also undergoing transformation. In January 2022, DP World started construction of a $1.13-billion deepwater port, which will include a 300-hectare container terminal. This will facilitate trade for neighbouring landlocked countries. DP World has also started work on a deep-sea port at Banana in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
