The continuous improvement paradigm of the Dantsoho-led management of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has received global acknowledgement as the World Bank has named Nigeria’s Tin Can Island Port and Lagos Port in Apapa among the world’s top 20 most improved container ports over the last five years,
The World Bank in its Container Port Performance Index (CPPI) for 2025 listed Tincan Island Ports Complex and Apapa Port Complexes in the category of Top 20 Port Improvement.
The CPPI report, which is the sixth edition, evaluates container port performance based on vessel turnaround time and operational efficiency using global benchmark.
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 highest improvements between 2020 and 2025, while Lagos Port was 12th on the list.
The Container Port Performance Index provides a consistent, data-driven measure of global port efficiency by focusing on vessel time in port. It enables comparisons across ports and over time, helping identify where performance is improving and where challenges remain.
This development is coming on the heels of the NPA’s frontline contribution to the sustenance of National Trade Surplus through it’s provision of the platform for Nigeria’s successive attainment of trade surplus year-on-year since 2024 and most recently that of of N7.54 trillion in the first quarter (Q1) of 2026 as reported by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Data from the report showed that Tin Can Island Port improved its CPPI score by 42 points, moving from a score of -68 in 2020 to -26 in 2025, while Lagos Port also recorded a notable improvement of 35 points, rising from -61 in 2020 to -26 in 2025.
The performance placed Nigeria among a select group of countries that have made substantial progress in enhancing vessel turnaround times, port efficiency and cargo handling operations over the five-year period.
Nigeria outperformed several major ports in the global improvement rankings, including France’s Marseille Port, which ranked 11th with a 39-point improvement; Türkiye’s Iskenderun Port, which placed 13th with a 34-point increase; and India’s Jawaharlal Nehru Port, which ranked 14th with a 32-point gain.
Peru’s Paita Port occupied 15th position with 32 points, while China’s Keelung and Fuzhou ports shared 16th and 17th positions respectively, recording 27 points each.
Responding to the reports, Managing Director of the of NPA, Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho said “with the investor-friendliness of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu providing the gravitas needed for increased investment to implement our port infrastructure and equipment modernization drive coupled with the unflinching support from the Honorable Minister of Marine & Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, we have all it takes to advance the fortunes of trade and boost the national economy”.
