NPA Expects Double-Digit Cargo Growth from Port Harcourt Terminal Expansion
- BUA Group chairman Abdul Samad Rabiu disclosed the $85 million investment during a visit to the Nigerian Ports Authority headquarters in Lagos
- The expanded terminal will give BUA roughly 600 metres of quay frontage to handle rising raw material imports for BUA Foods
- NPA managing director Dr Abubakar Dantsoho projected 13 to 14 per cent growth in cargo throughput from the Port Harcourt expansion
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BUA Group is pumping about $85 million into the expansion of its BUA Ports and Terminals facility in Port Harcourt, with the upgraded infrastructure expected to process over two million tonnes of imported raw materials every year once work is complete.
BUA Group chairman Abdul Samad Rabiu made the disclosure on a visit to Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) managing director Dr Abubakar Dantsoho at the authority's Lagos headquarters.
Source: Original
In a statement sighted by Legit.ng, on Thursday, July 30, Rabiu said the visit was to thank the NPA for its backing and to update management on how far the project had progressed.
"We've gone very far, and we thought it's important for us to come brief the management and also ask for additional support, and I'm happy that the MD and his team have promised that they'll continue to give us all the necessary support," Rabiu said.
Why BUA needs a bigger terminal
The push to expand is being driven by rapid growth at BUA Foods, which operates out of Port Harcourt. Rabiu said that once the expansion wraps up, the company expects to be importing more than two million tonnes of raw materials into the city annually, a volume that demands dedicated port infrastructure.
The project will deliver roughly 600 metres of quay frontage, significantly boosting the facility's cargo-handling capacity.
Rabiu noted that BUA's earlier acquisition rights to the terminal had once been revoked, but said the current NPA leadership had helped the project get back on track.
"I remember that at a point even that terminal acquisition was revoked, but look at us, we are now here, and we're getting all the support that we need from the management," he said.
Rabiu also argued that Nigeria's position as the continent's largest economy is not yet matched by the quality of its port infrastructure, calling the gap a barrier to full economic potential.
NPA projects double-digit cargo growth
Dantsoho welcomed the investment as a boost to Nigeria's eastern ports and said increased cargo volumes would translate directly into higher revenue for the country.
"Once you have volumes, then you have more value, then more dollars and more naira will come. And that is what is required," he said.
The NPA boss estimated that the development could push cargo throughput growth to between 13 and 14 per cent, which he described as a strong outcome against a global industry benchmark of around 16 per cent.
Dantsoho also pointed to a recent international recognition, noting that Apapa and Tin Can ports were listed among the 20 most improved ports in the world by S&P and the World Bank within the last two months, crediting the result to closer collaboration between the authority and private investors.
BUA promises cheaper food
Previously, Legit.ng reported that chairman of BUA Group, Abdul Samad Rabiu, has said the company's ongoing investments across Nigeria's food value chain are designed to increase production, reduce food prices and improve national food security.
Rabiu made the disclosure on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, on his official X account, after a meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
Source: Legit.ng
