Nigeria LNG (NLNG) Limited is in talks with the bank representatives and other financial institutions promoting the potential for a new dockyard in the country.
The proposal for the dockyard, to be located in Badagry, follows the conclusion of feasibility studies by Dutch consultancy Royal HaskoningDHV.
The studies come as one of the benefits of NLNG’s USD1.6 billion contract with shipbuilders, Samsung Heavy Industries and Hyundai Heavy Industries, for the building of six new vessels.
“This dry-dock, when completed, holds huge potential for investors and for Nigeria. Our LNG vessels and very large crude carriers (VLCC) of other companies in the oil and gas, and marine industries, which are currently maintained overseas, resulting in millions of dollars in capital flight, will soon be maintained in-country with significant value-added for the Nigerian economy,” said Babs Omotowa, NLNG’s managing director and chief executive officer at an investors forum held in Lagos.
Nigeria’s maritime sector needs an operational dockyard to cater for very large crude carriers (VLCCs) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, as existing dockyards can only handle smaller vessels.
As a result, owners of large vessels in Nigeria and the West African sub region have had to pay large sums of money to access docking facilities located mainly in Asia, Europe and the Americas.