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By Steve Agbota
Lekki Deep Sea Port has displaced Tin Can Island Port as it is rapidly reshaping Nigeria’s maritime trade landscape, emerging as the country’s second most important port by trade value just three years after operations began, according to the new data trade.
The new data trade for the first nine months of 2025 show that Lekki has overtaken long-established ports such as Tin Can Island and Port Harcourt (Onne) in both imports and exports, signalling a structural shift in how goods move in and out of Africa’s largest economy.
The figures, drawn from Nigeria’s “Trade by Top 10 Posts/Ports of Operation” tables for Q1, Q2 and Q3 2025, highlight Lekki’s growing dominance, particularly on the import side, where it is now clearly entrenched as the second-largest gateway after Apapa Port.
“The combined trade figures put Lekki Deep Sea Port’s rise into sharp relief. Between Q1 and Q3 2025, Lekki handled an estimated N13.46 trillion in total trade, combining imports and exports, making it Nigeria’s second-largest port by trade value, well ahead of Tin Can Island’s N9.31 trillion and almost double the N6.76 trillion recorded at Port Harcourt (Onne).
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“While Apapa Port remains dominant with about N74.78 trillion in total trade, Lekki has clearly emerged as the only port operating at a scale large enough to act as a genuine secondary hub. “Notably, Lekki’s trade is also more balanced, with imports of N7.39 trillion and exports of N6.07 trillion, underscoring its growing role as both a supply gateway and an export platform rather By the end of the third quarter of 2025, Lekki Deep Sea Port recorded N7.39 trillion in imports year-to-date, placing it firmly behind only Apapa Port, which handled N22.21 trillion over the same period,” the new data trade stated.
The new data trade indicated that by the end of the third quarter of 2025, Lekki Deep Sea Port recorded N7.39 trillion in imports year-to-date, placing it firmly behind only Apapa Port, which handled N22.21 trillion over the same period.
A breakdown of the quarterly data shows a consistent and accelerating trend: Q1 2025: N1.70 trillion, Q2 2025: N2.51 trillion and Q3 2025: N3.18 trillion.
This steady rise contrasts with the flatter performance of legacy ports. Tin Can Island, for example, recorded N5.83 trillion in imports YTD, well below Lekki’s total, while Port Harcourt (Onne) stood at N3.81 trillion. The significance of Lekki’s import growth goes beyond headline rankings.
It reflects a gradual rerouting of high-value cargo, especially containerised and industrial imports, away from congested Lagos legacy ports toward a facility designed from inception for scale, automation, and larger vessels.
