The managing director of Lekki Port LFTZ Enterprise Ltd., Wang Qiang, says the port has reached half of its designed operational capacity and has seen steady growth in container throughput since September 2025.

Mr Qiang disclosed this during an end-of-year media parley with journalists in Lagos on Tuesday.

He said the port was now operating at close to 50 per cent capacity, reflecting increased confidence among shipping lines and cargo owners in Nigeria’s first deep-sea port.

“We already reached 50 per cent of our capacity now, almost 50 per cent of the port capacity. There is consistent improvement in the number of 20ft equivalent units handled monthly,”He said

Mr Qiang explained further that efficient multimodal connectivity remains critical to sustaining and accelerating growth at the port.

According to him, barge operations have become an important evacuation channel and currently account for about 10 per cent of cargo movement from the port.

Mr Qiang mentioned that the ongoing Lagos–Calabar Coastal road project would help ease congestion and improve access to the port.

He said rail connectivity remained essential, particularly given the scale of industrial activity emerging in the Lekki corridor.

He said that the Nigerian government was concerned about the cargoes moving through rail and that the development would increase the number of cargoes outside the port.

Mr Qiang reiterated that the Lekki port was a fully automated terminal, noting that delays may persist until all stakeholders, including government agencies, are fully aligned with end-to-end digital processes.

He explained that customs procedures, particularly physical cargo examinations, and other port services should be fully digitalised to significantly reduce cargo dwell time.

“We must work together very closely with customers and all categories of operations for automation to yield results. Integration between the customs system, the terminal operating system and customers is already part of an agreed implementation schedule.

“For automation to work efficiently, all players must be ready, customers, government and every stakeholder. Only then can we have a fantastic system,” Mr Qiang said.

He also stressed that improved connectivity would allow the port to effectively double capacity through performance optimisation without expanding its physical footprint.

(NAN)