Calabar Economic City (CEC) is a multi-use industrial facility being created in Calabar, Eastern Nigeria, by African Port Assets (APA) in partnership with the Government of Cross River State.
Currently, most of Nigeria’s global trade takes place on the coastline. CEC will be constructed on a peninsula of the Calabar River, providing a route in-land for shipping trade to the heart of the country.
The project concept outlines a fully integrated manufacturing cluster, including:
CEC will stimulate the local economy by creating thousands of jobs and providing higher-quality medical and educational services for the local community. The forward-thinking design also considers how CEC can accommodate and integrate further developments in the region, such as improved transportation links.
As a key member of the development team, Beckett Rankine has undertaken scoping, masterplanning and Front End Engineering Design (FEED).
Our extensive scoping surveys assessed the proposed site to establish the feasibility of the site plans, the various weather and environmental conditions it will likely encounter across its lifespan, and the necessary geotechnical studies to inform design. We identified that the location offers great potential, particularly as very few similar facilities exist elsewhere in the region.
We then developed a masterplan of CEC’s configuration and layout. We presented seven distinct zones and outlined how the various sectors and services would interact with each other, as well as how infrastructure for data, power, water, and waste management would be supported.
Preparations have included analysing extensive environmental impact assessments to offset the impacts of the development and best prepare for future climate change.
The peninsula is low-lying land. To be protected from projected sea level rise and potential future flooding, the site will need to be raised and sufficiently surcharged or mechanically compacted to achieve the load-bearing characteristics for the industries using the location.
We identified that the river would need dredging to accommodate the vessels that will berth at CEC, providing a prime opportunity to re-use the riverbed sand as a low-cost and sustainable fill material for the surcharging.
Having evolved the project with a new layout design and updated plans for energy provision to the site, we have recommended further site assessments to be undertaken in order to validate and refine the design.
CEC is projected to receive a final investment decision in 2024, with detailed design, procurement and construction works commencing shortly after.
More information on the Calabar Economic City and its current status
