Cross River Secures $3.5bn Funding for Bakassi Deep Seaport

Cross River State has secured a $3.5 billion funding arrangement with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) for the development of the proposed Bakassi Deep Seaport.

The funding represents a major step in the state's long-running plan to establish a deep seaport in Bakassi and position Cross River as a major maritime and commercial gateway in the Gulf of Guinea.

The development was secured during Governor Bassey Otu's engagement with Afreximbank in Cairo, Egypt, where the state explored financing and investment opportunities for key infrastructure projects.

According to information from the Cross River State Government, the engagement culminated in the signing of a Project Preparation Facility for the Bakassi Deep Seaport, a project estimated at $3.5 billion.

The seaport is expected to play a major role in opening up Cross River's coastal economy, attracting private investment, creating jobs and improving the movement of goods into and out of the state.

The proposed facility is designed to handle containers, petroleum products and vehicles, while also providing logistics support for the oil and gas sector. It is expected to be connected to a free trade zone and serve as an important trading hub for the wider West and Central African region.

The project, which dates back to 2014, has gone through several stages of planning, studies and regulatory processes. However, the lack of financing has remained one of the major obstacles to moving the project from plans to physical construction.

The latest funding arrangement therefore raises fresh expectations among Cross River residents, particularly communities in the state's coastal areas, who have watched the project remain largely on paper for years.

The state government says the Bakassi Deep Seaport is expected to strengthen Cross River's position in international trade while stimulating economic activities across the state.

Governor Otu has described the partnership with Afreximbank as a major opportunity to reposition the state's economy, attract foreign investment and accelerate infrastructure development.

The project is also linked to the proposed 217-kilometre Superhighway, which is expected to provide a major transportation connection to the seaport and facilitate the movement of agricultural and industrial products.

However, despite the latest financial backing, the biggest question for many Cross Riverians remains when actual construction will begin and when the people of the state will begin to see the promised economic benefits.

The Bakassi Deep Seaport has been presented by successive administrations as a transformational project capable of changing Cross River's economic fortunes. In 2025, the state also received new hydrographic, geophysical and geotechnical reports and navigational charts described as essential to the engineering design, dredging, breakwater construction and navigation safety of the proposed port.

The state government will now face the task of translating the financing arrangements, technical studies and investment plans into visible construction and, ultimately, a functioning seaport.

For Cross River, the $3.5 billion backing could therefore represent more than another announcement—it could determine whether the long-awaited Bakassi maritime dream finally moves from political promises to reality.