• MSC has signed a 45-year concession with Nigerdock to develop a container terminal at Snake Island Port in Lagos.
• The project is part of a broader $1 billion investment plan in Nigeria’s logistics and port infrastructure.
• The new terminal aims to expand port capacity as congestion pushes traffic toward rival ports in West Africa.

MSC has signed a 45-year concession agreement with Nigerdock to develop a new container terminal at Snake Island Port (SIP) in Lagos, the company announced on March 11, 2026.

The concession forms part of a broader investment plan by the Italian-Swiss shipping group worth more than $1 billion in Nigeria’s logistics and port infrastructure.

The planned terminal will feature a 910-meter quay capable of handling Ship-to-Shore (STS) cranes and mobile harbor cranes (MHC), allowing it to serve both deep-sea vessels and barges. The facility will also include a draft of 16.5 meters—expandable to 18 meters over time—and a storage area covering 30 hectares, with additional space reserved for hybrid rubber-tired gantry (RTG) cranes.

The port expansion comes as Nigeria seeks to increase the capacity of its maritime infrastructure, which has struggled to keep pace with rising trade volumes. Rapid population growth and years of underinvestment in port facilities have contributed to chronic congestion, prompting some shipping traffic to shift toward competing ports in neighboring countries.

For MSC, the concession represents another step in strengthening its position in West Africa. Through its subsidiaries Terminal Investment Limited (TIL) and Africa Global Logistics (AGL), the group already manages major terminal concessions across the region, including in Cotonou, Lomé, Abidjan, and Tema.

MSC’s shipping arm has also expanded services to West African ports and deployed larger vessels on those routes.

In September 2025, the company launched the Iroko service, a direct maritime route linking China and Singapore with several ports in West and Central Africa, including Pointe-Noire, Cotonou, Lagos, Onne, and Lobito. The service provides additional weekly connections to complement cargo flows that typically pass through regional hubs such as Lomé or Tema.

While the new terminal is expected to expand Nigeria’s port capacity, several challenges remain. These include improving cargo evacuation infrastructure, modernizing port procedures, and easing chronic congestion across the Lagos metropolitan area.

As competition intensifies among maritime hubs along the Gulf of Guinea, the operational performance of the future terminal—and its integration into regional supply chains—will be key to capturing a larger share of trade flows.

Henoc Dossa