The new Lekki Deep Sea Port is 75% owned by the China Harbour Engineering Company and Tolaram group, with the balance shared between the Lagos state government and the Nigerian Ports Authority.
"This is a transformative project, game changer project. This project could create at least 200,000 jobs," Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria Cui Jianchun told Reuters after the port was commissioned by Buhari.
China is among the largest bilateral lenders to Nigeria and has funded rail, roads and power stations.
President Muhammadu Buhari has made building infrastructure a key pillar of his government's economic policy, and hopes that this will help his ruling party win votes during next month's presidential election.
With Lagos far closer to Europe and eastern North America than Asian ports, the new facility will hopefully help spur industrialization and "value added" manufacturing in Nigeria and the region, according to analysts.