World leader in maritime transport CMA CGM Group has announced that it has signed an agreement with Lekki Deep Seaport LFTZ Enterprise (LPLE) to operate the future container terminal at the port.
Located in Nigeria, Lekki Deep Sea Port is being developed, built and operated by LPLE, a joint venture enterprise led by the Tolaram Group, the Lagos State Government and the Nigerian Ports Authority.
As the container terminal operator, CMA CGM, through its subsidiary CMA Terminals, will be responsible for marketing, operations and maintenance of the container terminal at Lekki Deep Sea Port.
Upon completion in 2020, Lekki port will have 2 container berths and will be Nigeria’s first deep sea port.
Chief Executive Officer of Lekki Port LFTZ Enterprise,Navin Nahata, described the signing of the agreement with the CMA CGM Group as another step in the right direction towards the actualization of the Port, which upon completion, would become the deepest port in Sub-Saharan Africa.
“We are excited about this development because CMA Terminals is a world class port operator and can be relied upon to provide international port standard delivery services at par with most modern ports around the world to the Nigerian port customers” he said.
READ:Construction starts on Lekki Deep Seaport in Nigeria
On his part, Farid T. Salem, Executive Officer of the CMA CGM Group said that Lekki Sea port will allow the firm to serve its customers better.
“Lekki Port will allow us to bring to Nigeria larger container ships from Europe and Asia to better serve our customers and pursue our commitment to the development of the entire region. With CMA CGM’s unique service offering and expertise combined with our logistics and inland services, our presence in Lekki Port will benefit the entire Nigerian supply chain and market as well as neighboring countries,” he offered.
The Lekki Deep Seaport container terminal will be equipped with a 1,200-meter-long quay as well as 13 quay cranes and will have a capacity of 2.5 million TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units).
With its 16-meter depth, it will allow the Group to deploy ships with a capacity of up to 14,000 TEUs. Operations are planned to start end of 2020.