Port of Lagos Breakwater Repair
Nigerian Ports Authority
Government
Flood and coastal risk management
The port of Lagos is one of the largest and busiest in Africa and plays a key role in the Nigerian economy. Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city, with a population of 8 million, is Africa’s second largest city after Cairo in Egypt.
The harbour is protected from the Atlantic Ocean by three breakwaters known as ‘harbour moles’. The two larger breakwaters protrude into the ocean and protect the main channel leading ships in to the harbour, maintaining the flow of water through the channel and reducing the need for expensive dredging work. Without the breakwaters, an ocean surge would be more likely to flood the whole of Lagos Island and the lagoon, causing massive disruption.