BUA Group is investing about $85 million to expand its BUA Ports and Terminals facility in Port Harcourt, as the company prepares to import more than two million tonnes of raw materials annually for its growing food business.
Chairman of BUA Group, Abdul Samad Rabiu, gave the update during a visit to the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) headquarters in Lagos, where he briefed the managing Director, Dr Abubakar Dantsoho on the project’s progress and thanked the authority for its support.
Rabiu said the expansion would add about 600 metres of quay frontage and is essential to sustaining BUA food’s rapid growth in Port Harcourt. He noted the terminal once faced the threat of losing its acquisition rights, but said renewed backing from the NPA had allowed the project to move forward.
He also used the visit to underscore the broader need for improved port infrastructure across Nigeria, arguing the country still lags behind other major economies despite the size of its economy.
Responding, Dantsoho projected double-digit growth in cargo throughput and revenue as a result of the expansion, calling it a major boost for trade and for the development of Nigerian eastern ports.
He said increased volumes from both imports and exports would translate into greater value for the country, and pointed to recent recognition of Tin Can and Apapa Ports by S&P and the World Bank as among the world’s most improved, as evidence of the benefits of closer collaboration between the NPA and private investors.
Both men credited President Bola Tinubu for encouraging that collaboration.
