The Gateway Inland Dry Port Container Terminal, whose groundbreaking ceremony was performed on 11 October, represents a significant stride in the quest by Governor Dapo Abiodun's administration to industrialize Ogun State.
This initiative aims to enhance the logistical capabilities of the state, providing a crucial link between the maritime industry and the hinterland. Since his assumption of office in 2019, Governor Abiodun has made the industrialization of the Gateway State the cornerstone of his policy implementation. A key point of the governor's leadership style is his desire to leave an unassailable imprint and a legacy unmatched. The governor has been methodically establishing key economic enablers that will put the state on the path to becoming an industrial giant. Already, Ogun has the highest industrial base in the country, with more than 6,000 industrial concerns scattered across the state.
Four industrial clusters have been created in the state, further enhancing Ogun's position as a key industrial hub in the country. These clusters include Agbara, Magboro, Ijebu Ode, and Remo. The Dry Port Project is a significant initiative aimed at boosting industrial growth and logistics in the state. It is part of a broader strategy to enhance trade facilitation and reduce congestion at seaports by establishing inland ports that can handle cargo efficiently, serve the industrial clusters, and complement the state-owned Gateway Agro Cargo Airport, located at Ilishan Remo.
Governor Abiodun has been at the forefront of this innovative quest, recognizing the potential of the dry port to further transform Ogun State into a key industrial hub. The project aims to provide a seamless transportation network for goods, facilitating easier access to markets both domestically and internationally. This is particularly important given Ogun's strategic location near the nation's commercial capital and its connectivity to various transport routes.
Governor Abiodun's commitment to this project reflects his broader vision for Ogun State, which includes fostering an environment conducive to industrial growth, enhancing public-private partnerships, and leveraging technology to drive economic development. Speaking at the groundbreaking event in Shoderu village, Kajola in Ewekoro Local Government, Governor Abiodun said the dry port project was another demonstration of his administration's commitment to the "Building Our Future Together" agenda, aimed at ensuring sustainable progress for Ogun State. "This project was part of our vision on assumption of office, and we had been working assiduously on it since then," he said.
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Speaking on the reason behind the conceptualization of the project, Prince Abiodun said: "Upon assuming office, we decided that we must sustain this position by turning the push factor from Lagos into a pull factor from Ogun. We therefore articulated our vision as one that would provide focused and qualitative governance while delivering the required infrastructure and an enabling environment for public-private sector partnership, which is fundamental to economic growth and the individual prosperity of our people. We called our mantra 'building our future together' and sought to implement this vision through our ISEYA development pillars.
We established a Ministry of Transportation in recognition of the enabling significance of this sector. We commissioned a State Transport Master Plan to help us define our priorities and how our transport sector will connect. This birthed our Multimodal Transport Master Plan, which identified the need for an airport and its location-we are at the pre-commissioning stages of that airport that will be the best-built and best-equipped airport in Nigeria. It identified the need to build a seaport and a dry port, invest in rail transportation, and strengthen our mass transport, among other initiatives.
"As Dr. Edward Glaeser, a renowned urban economist, once said, 'infrastructure is the backbone of the economy; it fuels growth, fosters development, and paves the way for prosperity.' Having identified the ideal location convenient to our manufacturers, contiguous to a rail line and access to two major roads, and the availability of a natural gas pipeline, the business case for this project was established.
