• Group seeks approval to build new port in Olokola Free Trade Zone near Lagos

• Port to support fertilizer exports, LNG shipments, and regional logistics

• Project could ease congestion at Apapa and compete with Lekki Deep Sea Port

The Dangote Group has submitted a formal request to local authorities for the construction of a deep-sea port in the Olokola Free Trade Zone, about 100 kilometers from Lagos, according to multiple Nigerian media reports. The project, first announced in March 2025, remains short on public details but is already raising interest due to its strategic location.

Ogun State, where Olokola is located, is Nigeria’s second-largest manufacturing hub after Lagos. It is home to several Dangote cement plants and other industries with high logistics needs. The planned port fits into the group’s broader strategy to control its value chain, complementing the company’s 650,000-barrel-per-day refinery and urea plant in Lekki.

The new terminal is expected to support liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, enabled by a proposed pipeline linking the Niger Delta to the southern coast. It will also serve as a hub for fertilizer shipments, which are currently routed through Dangote’s private jetty in Lekki. The port would improve the connection between the group’s industrial assets and West African markets.

The Olokola project could also help ease congestion at Lagos’s busy Apapa and Tin Can Island ports, which have long struggled with bottlenecks. At the same time, it may become a direct competitor to the Lekki Deep Sea Port, commissioned in 2023, which targets similar cargo segments such as containers, dry bulk, liquid bulk, and petroleum products.

Despite potential competition, the proximity of the two ports could also lead to synergies if properly coordinated. In the long run, this private-sector-driven push to diversify Nigeria’s port infrastructure could boost supply chain resilience and support the country’s export ambitions.