Maersk denies $600 million investment in Nigeria

Global shipping giant, Maersk, has denied claims by the Federal Government of Nigeria that it has reached an agreement for a $600m investment deal.

It denied that it has reached agreement to restructure the country’s sea ports.

This claim emanated after the visit of Chairman of Maersk, Robert Maersk Uggla, to president, Bola Tinubu, at the recently concluded World Economic  Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where the Nigerian leader asked the shipping mogul to complement his “administration’s ongoing $1 billion investment in seaport reconstruction.

But even as no concrete deal was reached, the president’s media aides in a statement last Sunday, claimed president Tinubu had at the meeting, secured a $600m investment deal with the Danish shipping giant.

“We believe in Nigeria, and we will invest $600 million in existing facilities and make the ports accommodating for bigger ships,” State House quoted Mr Maersk as saying on Sunday in it’s statement.

However, contrary to the statement by president  Tinubu’s media aide, Ajuri Ngelale, which claimed further that the  $600 million investment deal would expand seaport infrastructure, the Maersk group said no such deal existed.

“We are not able to comment on any investment talks,” the group told UK newspaper Lloyd’s List on Tuesday.

“Maersk has been present in Nigeria for 35 years and, as a global provider of logistics services, we remain committed to develop opportunities for growth to people, the port sector and businesses locally,” the Danish company told the newspaper.

“Therefore, it is natural to have an ongoing dialogue with the administration. However, we are not able to comment on any investment talks,” Maersk insisted