French CMA CGM seals deal with promoters of Lekki Deep Seaport to manage terminal
As structures and operational activities at the emerging Lekki Deep Seaport take shape, Lekki Port LFTZ Enterprise (LPLE), the promoters of the new facility has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with French container shipping giant, CMA CGM Group, to operate the future container terminal of the seaport.
This followed the presidential nod handed down on the massive scheme during last month’s official flag off of construction activities on the $1.5 billion Lekki Deep Seaport by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
The scheme which will be the first of its kind in the country when completed will have two container berths, one dry bulk berth, three liquid berths, 1,200-meter-long quay as well as 13 quay cranes and will have a capacity of 2.5 million TEUs, with 16-meter depth.
Details from the sealed deal made available to Business Hilights Intelligence Unit (BHIU) in Lagos showed that CMA CGM as the container terminal operator would be responsible for marketing, operations and maintenance of the container terminal at Lekki Deep Sea Port through its subsidiary CMA Terminals.
Speaking on the terms and conditions which enticed the Executive Officer of the CMA CGM Group, Farid Salem, he said “We are pleased to sign this Memorandum of Agreement with LPLE to operate Lekki Port’s container terminal”.
Continuing, he added that “As Nigeria’s first deep sea port, Lekki Port represents a strategic choice for the CMA CGM Group. Thanks to its position and capacity, 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,” Salem said.
In his remarks after signing the MoU, the Chief Executive Officer of Lekki Port LFTZ Enterprise, Navin Nahata, described the deal with the CMA CGM Group as another step in the right direction towards the actualization of the Port, which would become the deepest port in Sub-Saharan Africa.
According to him, “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”.
