APM Terminals agreed to exclusive talks on a proposed $2.5 billion deep‑water port in Badagry as the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy led a government delegation to Denmark this week to court maritime investment.
The memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed in Copenhagen, commits APM Terminals to negotiate with Badagry Port Development Ltd. on the greenfield project, the Special Adviser to the minister, Dr. Bolaji Akinola, said in a statement.
The deal brings one of the world’s largest terminal operators into preliminary plans for a port that Nigeria projects will generate more than $53 billion over a 45‑year concession period under a Build‑Own‑Operate‑Transfer public‑private partnership approved by the Federal Executive Council in 2022.
Signed on behalf of APM Terminals by Vincent Clerc, group chief executive of A.P. Moller–Maersk, the MoU is intended to advance a facility designed to add deepwater capacity, handle larger container ships and boost transshipment opportunities for Nigeria and the wider West African market. Didi Ndiomu, Managing Director of Badagry Port Development Ltd. and Quinn McGrath Marine and Environmental Services Ltd., also signed.
“We are committed to carrying forward the project,” Akinola quoted the statement as saying. The company and Nigerian officials also discussed extending APM’s concessions at the Lagos Port Complex, Apapa, and the West Africa Container Terminal in Onne.
Minister Adegboyega Oyetola, who led the delegation, described the discussions in Copenhagen as part of President Bola Tinubu’s push to modernize Nigeria’s maritime infrastructure and expand the country’s role as a regional trade hub.
“Partnering with global terminal operators like APM Terminals to explore strategic greenfield developments such as the Badagry Port is central to President Tinubu’s vision,” he said in the statement.
APM executives said the project could ease congestion at city ports and deepen Nigeria’s transshipment capabilities. “Developing Badagry as a greenfield project will further ease congestion in city ports and open new opportunities,” Igor van den Essen, managing director for Africa & Europe at APM Terminals, said in the statement.
He added that longer‑term investment in existing concessions in Apapa and Onne would support Nigeria’s ambitions to expand trade and attract investment.
Ndiomu described the MoU as the start of a new phase for Nigerian maritime infrastructure that would position the country as a leading maritime gateway in sub‑Saharan Africa.
Backers say the Badagry port would strengthen supply‑chain resilience by enabling larger vessels to call directly in Nigeria and by offering a strategically located transshipment hub for West and Central Africa.
The project remains subject to regulatory oversight by the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission and to the outcome of the exclusive negotiations, which have no binding development obligations attached to the MoU.
