Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has approved the development of the Ibom Deep Sea Port in Nigeria’s Akwa Ibom State.
Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State has since pledged the state government's cooperation towards the projects delivery.
Eno said the port would broaden prospects for trade worldwide, investment, industrial expansion and employment.
The governor said the approval concerned memoranda intended to let the federal government provide a sovereign guarantee for prospective investors.
He added that building work would not start at once, clarifying that approval from the President is not the same as approval to commence construction.
Nigeria's Federal Executive Council approved the project on December 16, 2020, with a concession value equivalent to US$2.016 billion. The Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission's register had named a Bollore/PowerChina consortium as concessionaire.
The state described the financing at the time as 60 per cent private and 40 per cent public.
In June, Eno led a technical session in Paris with the Africa Global Logistics Group, which the state described as a prospective partner, to review a feasibility report prepared by Worley Parsons.
The greenfield port is planned alongside a free trade zone within the proposed Ibom Industrial City. Its intended cargo includes containers, petroleum products, crude oil and natural gas exports, vehicle imports and dry bulk.
A 2018 investment document envisaged a dug-out port for New Panamax container vessels with a 7.4-kilometre quay.