Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Company (NLNG) is to provide partial funding for the building of the very first major shipyard in the biggest economy Africa has to offer, in an effort to elevate the country’s status to that of a hub for continental maritime operations. The project will cost a total of $1.5 billion.

Nigeria is listed as being the eight biggest crude producer in the whole world and the top oil exporter of Africa, however, it doesn’t have a drydock, thus it does not have the ability to maintain and repair big crude ships, which is a significant drawback for carriers headed its way, as commented by Tony Okonedo, who serves as a spokesperson for NLNG.

“South Africa was the sole country that offered such a facility for use on the continent, thus ships had to travel quite the distance in order to complete their appointed repair procedures. At the moment, Nigeria only has two single facilities that are capable of accommodating only small types of vessels,” he further added.

According to him, Hyundai Heavy Industries and Samsung Heavy Industries have agreed to make a financial commitment towards the facility’s construction in a total amount of $30 million. The shipyard is to be located in Badagry, near Lagos, which serves as the commercial capital of Nigeria.

“It may be potentially employed for the purposes of transporting the 2.5-billion-barrel-a-day crude business in the country,” Okonedo commented.