With the government’s capital expenditure on construction reaching US$2.2bn in 2018, Nigeria is of huge interest to the international business community today, given the impressive pipeline of construction projects in Africa’s most populous country today.

 

Beyond building schools, hospitals, sports facilities and social infrastructure, Nigeria’s recent National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan is addressing an estimated 17 million unit housing deficit. As a consequence, Nigeria’s construction sector is growing at an ever fast pace, nearing a nine-per-cent year-on-year increase in the first quarter of 2018, according to reports by the Oxford Business Group.

 

It is no surprise that today more and more international construction companies are taking active steps to enter the lucrative Nigerian market, which serves as a strategic business hub to expand into the wider West Africa region. And it was this buoyant market climate that inspired The Big 5 portfolio of construction events – the largest in the Middle East and Africa – to launch its first ever event in the country’s largest and fastest growing city, Lagos.

 

According to the organisers of The Big 5 Construct Nigeria, which will take place at the Lagos Landmark Center on 9-11 September 2019, the feedback from international manufacturers is extremely positive on the launch of the new construction show.

 

Huge new infrastructural investments

 

“There’s true excitement within the industry looking at Nigeria’s business potential and the huge investments currently underway in both the infrastructure and urban construction sectors”, enthused Muhammed Kazi, Portfolio Event Director at dmg events. “As mature markets become increasingly competitive, construction companies are now finding fresh opportunities in Africa.”

 

Rastone srl, an internationally renowned company in the stone industry, was one of the first exhibitors that secured their space at The Big 5 Construct Nigeria. According to its CEO, Roberto Alimonti, the company’s top priority today is to open new markets outside Europe. “Nigeria is on the top of the list”, he said. “News about their economical, commercial and financial potential confirm Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa to be the markets of the future,” he enthused. “We have already participated in some events in Nigeria over the past years, and our previous investigations there confirm the positive outlook. Supported by our experience and high professional skills, we believe we have a chance to develop good business relations in the Nigerian construction field.”

 

Opportunities abound

 

Tatyana Kim, the Export Executive at Aquagas Plastic Industries – a UAE based manufacturer of polypropylene pipes and fittings that has also confirmed it will be participating in the show in Lagos later this year – echoed Mr Alimonti’s sentiments: “The Nigerian market is competitive, yet there is a huge chance to get a share of it. Nigeria is the largest economy in the African continent with a constant GDP growth. Opportunities abound there for worldwide exporters in fields like agriculture, construction, education, electricity and power generation, healthcare, oil & gas equipment, as well as security and safety equipment.”

 

Ms. Kim continued that the Nigerian Government continues to promote its country as a rewarding target for Foreign Direct Investment. “Foreign capital is flowing into all major sectors of the economy with the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, France, and China being the main sources,” she said. “The construction sector itself is going hand in hand with the economic development to provide not only the social infrastructure but basically to allow all other sectors of Nigerian economy to operate.”