President Muhammadu Buhari inaugurated the Lekki deep seaport and Imota rice mill projects in Lagos on Monday.
The deep seaport, which was completed in 2022, was constructed by China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd (CHEC) and occupies 90 hectares out of the 830 hectares reserved for the Lagos Free Zone (LFZ).
The deep seaport will allow 18,000 TEU capacity vessels, which are four times bigger than the ones berthing at Apapa seaports, thereby reducing the cost of container transportation from any part of the world.
The Imota project, on the other hand, is a 32-metric-tonnes-per-hour rice mill built by the state to tackle food insecurity in the country.
With a capacity of 2.8 million bags of 50kg bags of rice yearly, the project is expected to generate 1,500 direct jobs and 254,000 indirect jobs.
Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu said efforts would be made to ensure that the Lekki deep seaport is free from traffic and commuting frustration. He added that the seaport would reduce unemployment in the country.
“This magnificent infrastructure is a result of the combined efforts of the federal government, Lagos state government, and the private sector. It is going to generate thousands of jobs for citizens of Nigeria,” the governor said.
Meanwhile, Buhari is expected to commission the John Randle centre for Yoruba culture and history, and the groundbreaking for the blue line rail phase 2 (Mile 2 to Okokomaiko) tomorrow, Tuesday, January 24.
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