LAGOS ports at Apapa and Tin Can are rising! The ports made it to the exclusive list of the world’s top 20 most improved container ports in the past five years, according to a new report by the World Bank. Both ports, which handle 70 per cent of Nigeria’s maritime traffic, were named in the World Bank’s Container Port Performance Index for 2025. In a country whose ports were notorious for delays, this is a rare moment. It should be sustained.
This says a lot about the immense transformation that both ports have undergone in the last few years, and which has placed Lagos as a stronger, more efficient gateway to global commerce in Nigeria.
A report by Channels Television says this pivot came on the heels of the Nigerian Ports Authority’s frontline contribution to the National Trade Surplus, which Nigeria attained year-on-year since 2024.
In the first quarter of 2026, it facilitated N7.54 trillion in trade, the National Bureau of Statistics reported.
The report, compiled by the World Bank and S&P Global Market Intelligence, ranked Tin Can Island Port 10th globally among ports that posted the greatest improvements between 2020 and 2025, while Lagos Port was 12th on the list.
