Chinedu runs a mid-sized import business bringing consumer goods into Lagos, and in mid-2026 he faced a routing decision on a routine 40-foot container: clear it through Apapa, where his brokers have worked for a decade, or route it through Lekki Deep Sea Port, twenty-five kilometres east, where his shipping line now offers a direct call. The rates he was quoted were not close. This article works through what actually separates Apapa and Lekki haulage costs today, and when the newer, deeper port is worth the switch.
⭐ Apapa haulage for a 40-foot container has ranged from roughly ₦350,000 to over ₦900,000 depending on congestion and checkpoint activity, while Lekki Deep Sea Port haulage has generally held closer to ₦550,000, reflecting fewer informal checkpoints but a longer average trucking distance to inland markets. ⭐
Apapa vs Lekki: the current cost picture
Metric | Apapa Port Complex | Lekki Deep Sea Port
40ft container haulage (recent reported range) | ₦350,000–₦900,000+ | ~₦550,000
20ft container haulage (recent reported range) | ~₦400,000 | Not consistently published
Draft depth | Shallow, restricts vessel size | 16.5 metres, deepest in Nigeria
Vessel size handled (average GRT, 2025) | ~33,251 | ~55,712
Access road condition | Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, Ijora Bridge — frequently congested | Lekki-Epe Expressway — newer, less checkpoint activity reported
Distance to Ibadan/inland north | Shorter | Longer
Checkpoint and informal levy exposure | High, reported up to ₦80,000 per trip in tolls during 2026 gridlock | Reported minimal by comparison
These figures are not static, and that instability is itself part of the comparison. The Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents reported in 2025 that Apapa haulage had fallen to around ₦350,000 from an earlier ₦1.2 million, attributing the drop to reduced checkpoint interference. Within roughly a year, industry reporting in mid-2026 described Apapa gridlock returning, with truck operators quoting rates upward of ₦360,000 for inland moves to Ibadan and describing informal tolls at multiple checkpoints totalling as much as ₦80,000 per trip on top of the base haulage fee. Lekki's rate, cited around the same period at approximately ₦550,000 for a 40-foot container, has moved less, which importers attribute to fewer checkpoints along the Lekki-Epe corridor rather than to any published tariff advantage.
Why the gap exists: depth, distance and congestion
Lekki Deep Sea Port's 16.5-metre draft lets it receive vessels no other Nigerian terminal can handle, and in 2025 it recorded the highest average vessel size of any Nigerian port, with an average gross registered tonnage of roughly 55,712 against Apapa's 33,251. Larger vessels calling directly at Lekki reduce the need for transshipment through regional hubs such as Cotonou, Lomé or Tema, which lowers the shipping-line cost that reaches the importer before a truck is ever booked. That advantage sits upstream of haulage and explains part of why some import categories have shifted toward Lekki even where the trucking leg itself is longer.
The haulage leg tells a different story. Apapa sits closer to Lagos's older industrial clusters — Isolo, Ikeja, Agbara — and to the arterial roads running north toward Ibadan, so a truck loaded at Apapa often has a shorter physical distance to travel than one loaded at Lekki, twenty-five kilometres further east. What erodes that geographic advantage is congestion and informal levies along the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway and Ijora Bridge corridor, which the Eto call-up system was built to reduce but has not eliminated. Lekki's newer access road, the Lekki-Epe Expressway, has so far attracted less reported checkpoint activity, though it also carries a longer run for cargo destined outside eastern Lagos.
A worked example: routing a 40ft container to Ibadan
Take a 40-foot container of packaged goods destined for a distributor in Ibadan, roughly 128 kilometres from Apapa and 155 kilometres from Lekki by road. Using the mid-2026 figures cited above — Apapa haulage at approximately ₦360,000 plus checkpoint exposure of up to ₦80,000, against Lekki haulage at approximately ₦550,000 with minimal reported checkpoint activity — the effective landed haulage cost works out as follows: Apapa totals roughly ₦440,000 once checkpoint tolls are included, while Lekki totals approximately ₦550,000 with no comparable levy added. On this specific comparison, Apapa remains roughly ₦110,000 cheaper per container despite the checkpoint exposure, because the base haulage differential is larger than the toll gap.
That result flips for importers closer to the coast east of Lagos, or for those whose shipping line only calls at Lekki directly, since in that case the alternative to Lekki haulage is not a cheaper Apapa route but a transshipment cost through a regional hub, which typically exceeds either Lagos haulage figure once port charges and delay are counted. The comparison an individual importer needs to run is not "which port is cheaper in general" but "what does my specific shipping line, cargo type and inland destination actually cost through each route this month," since both figures have moved by more than 50 percent within a single year.
What to check before choosing a route
- Confirm which terminals your shipping line calls at directly, since transshipment costs to reach the "wrong" port can outweigh any haulage saving
- Get a current haulage quote in writing rather than relying on a figure more than a few months old, given how much both routes have moved recently
- Ask brokers operating on both corridors about current checkpoint activity, since that variable shifts faster than published tariffs
- Calculate total landed cost — ocean freight, port charges and haulage together — rather than comparing haulage in isolation
- Factor in your inland destination's distance from each port before assuming Apapa's shorter average haul is decisive
Fleet operators managing multiple pickups across both corridors face a scheduling problem on top of the cost comparison. AI Route Optimization for Delivery Fleets in Lagos covers how Lagos operators are sequencing onward delivery once cargo clears either port gate, which matters because a cheaper haulage quote can still lose its advantage if the onward route runs into unrelated congestion.
The wider case for Lekki
Beyond individual haulage quotes, Lekki's throughput growth has driven measurable change in the Lagos Free Zone that surrounds it. Lekki Free Zone Growth: Tracking the $ Impact of Access documents how improved port access has drawn fresh investment into land around the port, a dynamic that matters for importers weighing whether to build warehousing near Lekki rather than routing cargo onward from a port-adjacent facility at Apapa.
Where this comparison has limits
Both figures in this article are point-in-time quotes drawn from industry and trade-press reporting rather than a single audited tariff schedule, and neither the Nigerian Ports Authority nor the operators of either port publish a standardised haulage rate card. Stakeholders including the Nigerian Shippers' Council have publicly called in 2026 for a published Port Economic Performance Report covering truck turnaround times and total logistics costs, which does not yet exist. Until it does, any comparison — including this one — should be treated as a snapshot rather than a fixed rule, and importers should re-verify current rates each time they book rather than assuming last quarter's figures still hold. Checkpoint tolls in particular are informal charges that neither port operator sanctions, and their presence reflects enforcement gaps on public roads rather than a cost either terminal controls directly.
Frequently asked questions
Is Lekki Deep Sea Port always cheaper than Apapa for haulage?
No. Lekki's reported rate has generally been more stable, but Apapa has, at various points, quoted lower base haulage than Lekki once checkpoint tolls are set aside. Which route is cheaper depends on current congestion levels, your inland destination, and whether your shipping line calls at your preferred port directly.
Why is Lekki Port able to handle larger ships than Apapa?
Lekki has a 16.5-metre draft, the deepest of any Nigerian port, compared with Apapa's shallower approach channel. That depth lets ultra-large vessels call directly rather than transship cargo through regional hubs first, which is a separate cost advantage from the haulage leg discussed in this article.
Do checkpoint tolls apply at both ports equally?
Reporting through 2026 has associated heavier informal checkpoint activity with the Apapa-Oshodi corridor than with the Lekki-Epe Expressway, though this is based on trade-press and stakeholder accounts rather than an official toll register, and conditions on public roads can change without notice.
How much has Apapa haulage actually changed in the past year?
Industry sources cited a drop to around ₦350,000 for a 40-foot container in 2025, followed by reports in mid-2026 of rates rising again to ₦360,000 or more plus separate checkpoint tolls, illustrating how quickly this figure moves and why it should be reverified before each shipment rather than assumed stable.
Should every importer switch to Lekki?
Not automatically. Importers whose shipping line calls at Apapa or Tin Can, whose inland destination sits closer to Apapa, or who have established broker relationships there may find total landed cost favours staying put. The switch tends to make sense when a shipping line offers a direct Lekki call that avoids transshipment, or when Apapa-side congestion and tolls erode its haulage advantage in a given month.
Key takeaways
- Apapa and Lekki haulage rates have each moved by more than 50 percent within roughly a year, so neither figure in this article should be treated as fixed
- Lekki's cost advantage often sits upstream, in avoided transshipment through regional hubs, rather than in the haulage leg itself
- A worked comparison to Ibadan showed Apapa roughly ₦110,000 cheaper per 40ft container even after adding checkpoint tolls, though that result depends entirely on current congestion levels
- No standardised, audited haulage rate card exists for either port, which is exactly the transparency gap the Nigerian Shippers' Council flagged in 2026
- Total landed cost, not haulage in isolation, is the number that should drive a routing decision
Running Chinedu's numbers back through this comparison: his shipping line called at both ports that month, so the decision came down to base haulage plus expected checkpoint exposure against his Ibadan destination. On the mid-2026 figures, Apapa worked out cheaper by roughly ₦110,000 despite the tolls — a result that could reverse within a quarter if Apapa congestion worsens further or Lekki's corridor sees its own checkpoint activity emerge. The number worth tracking is not which port wins today, but how quickly that answer keeps changing.
This article is for informational purposes and does not constitute freight-forwarding, customs or investment advice. Haulage rates, checkpoint activity and port charges change frequently; importers should obtain a current written quote from their broker or haulage provider before committing to a route. Readers are welcome to share their own recent haulage quotes in the comments, and related guides on Lagos port and freight corridors are linked throughout this piece.
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