FG Defends £746m UK Port Deal, Targets 7-Day Cargo Clearance
By Patience Ikpeme
The Federal Government has dismissed claims that the recent £746 million (approximately $997 million) port infrastructure partnership between Nigeria and the United Kingdom is skewed in favor of foreign interests.
The landmark deal, which focuses on the comprehensive modernization of the Apapa and Tin Can Island ports in Lagos, is being positioned as a “win-win” strategy designed to fix decades of physical and procedural decay in the nation’s maritime sector.
Responding to criticisms regarding the distribution of benefits, the Ministry of Finance disclosed on Tuesday that the agreement is a complementary partnership rather than a lopsided one.
“This is not a zero-sum arrangement,” the Ministry stated. “Global partnerships deliver different but complementary benefits. Nigeria secures critical infrastructure upgrades without delay, enabling faster economic transformation.”
According to the Ministry, while the UK partners gain participation in financing and industrial opportunities, Nigeria’s gains are “catalytic.” The government listed these benefits as including modern infrastructure, reduced logistics costs, and the creation of thousands of jobs in the construction and logistics sectors.
A central objective of the modernization project is to eliminate what the government describes as a hidden “congestion tax” currently paid by Nigerian businesses due to inefficiencies. With the Apapa Port built in 1913 and Tin Can in 1977, the aging facilities handle roughly 70% of Nigeria’s total trade but have become major bottlenecks.
“Most importantly, it reduces the hidden ‘congestion tax’ borne by Nigerian businesses,” the Ministry noted, adding that the deal “targets the largest constraint to trade efficiency” by focusing on the hubs that facilitate the majority of national commerce.
The government’s reform program aims for a drastic structural shift: reducing cargo dwell time from the current 18–21 days to under 7 days by 2026. This would bring Nigeria closer to the global average of 4 days, a move the Ministry believes will “deliver faster clearance times, lower logistics costs, and improved reliability for businesses.”
The port upgrades are being launched alongside Phase 1 of the National Single Window (NSW), a digital platform intended to solve the “transaction dwell time” that accounts for 73% of port delays.
The Ministry explained that the two reforms are “mutually reinforcing,” stating, “Without the NSW, ports remain congested due to slow documentation. Without port upgrades, digital efficiency is undermined by physical bottlenecks. Together, they deliver end-to-end efficiency across Nigeria’s trade value chain.”
The NSW is expected to eliminate the need for multiple agency visits by providing a single digital interface for licenses, permits, and payments.
These maritime reforms are part of a wider economic strategy under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, which seeks to achieve 7% medium-term economic growth. By improving the ease of doing business and attracting investment, the government intends to make Nigerian goods more competitive under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
“For exporters, this means better access to global markets,” the Ministry said. “For the economy, it results in a lower cost of goods, increased trade volumes, and higher government revenue through improved compliance.”
