In a bid to address infrastructure challenges, Stakeholders have converged on Victoria Island for the inaugural Nigeria Infrastructure Summit alongside the West Africa Infrastructure Expo, to chart a new course for sustainable solutions.
In an opening remarks, Senior Vice President, dmg events, Josine Heijmans, said the three days event which also features Heating, Ventilating, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration, HVACR Nigeria, brought together policymakers, investors, and industry experts to discuss ways to accelerate infrastructure delivery and drive economic growth.
According to Heijmans, Nigeria is taking major strides in infrastructure development with the hosting of the West Africa Infrastructure Expo but there is need to focus on key areas such as transport networks, power systems, digital connectivity, water infrastructure, and sustainable urban development to foster collaboration and drive progress in Nigeria’s infrastructure landscape and the wider West African region.
“The summit will host strategic dialogues focusing on delivery, investment and innovation.
Through shared insights and perspectives, the discussions will explore how policy alignment, effective partnerships and investment-ready models can accelerate infrastructure delivery across Nigeria”.
“Our esteemed speakers will address key challenges and opportunities across the infrastructure ecosystem, highlighting the importance of collaboration in strengthening project execution, improving efficiency and ensuring long-term impact for businesses and communities alike.
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank our Silver Sponsor, Turner and Townsend, for their support”
“I encourage you to exchange ideas and build connections that extend beyond today’s discussions and contribute to sustained progress across Nigeria’s infrastructure landscape and the wider West African region” Josine said.
President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, Dr Alli Rabiu, represented by his Deputy, Mrs Valerie Agberagba, said Nigeria’s infrastructure sector is evolving rapidly, with significant opportunities in renewable energy, transportation and urban development reshaping the country’s ambitions called for collaboration,stressing that the government alone cannot fund projects that are investible, commercially resilient and job opportunities capable of creating long-term value.
“This summit is a welcome one at this present time where we have a political will to move the infrastructure of Nigeria forward”
“There is a conversation going on between the federal government, the states and all, and I believe we need to take advantage of that.
If you recall, this summit is an outcome of the five expo construction projects that have been going on for some years, the construction expo.
And there was a realization that Nigeria has, we have the materials, we have the professionals” she said
“People in the private sector, captains of industry from the government sector both federal and state and of course the Nigerian citizens who are also beneficiaries of these infrastructure to come to the table and discuss and that is why we are all here and we believe we’ll be having a very honest discussion on issues which goes down to financing communication stakeholder”
“I believe at the end of it we will not just be coming out with a recommendation we’ll be coming out with actionable recommendations that can be monitored to see that there’s progress in the nigerian infrastructure space, a case where you need over 200 trillion naira to build infrastructure for the next 30 to 40 years you will know that with our budget we will not be able to fund it and so we all need to come to the table to decide on what to do we have the domestic funds that can be handled, we have the pension fund i’m sure you heard in the first session where people talked about it we’ve been wanting to assess that for infrastructure we also have the sukuk fund that can be used”
“Let’s do the domestic funding before we start looking for the direct foreign investment that we are looking out for.
And I believe when we combine all these together, we will be able to at least put some things on ground that we’ll be proud of”
Also some exhibitors at the event said the programme which impacts could not be overemphasised is in the right direction as it gives opportunities to collaborate, interact, showcase new and modern products of international standards.
One of the Exhibitors, Mr. Hussam Aziz, said the Nigeria market is huge and the biggest in West Africa, though there are challenges but there are also many opportunities in it, so we will explore different ways to navigate through to tap into the opportunities, my company has been in Nigeria for years and we are still thriving”
Another Exhibitor, Mr. Samuel Kalu, spoke on renewable energy sources for air conditioners saying his organization was one of the trailblazers who brought air conditioners to homes in the 1960s in Nigeria, so they understand the market well even with the economic realities in the country, he commended dmg events for the opportunity to showcase on the stand, noting that it can only get bigger” Kalu stated.
Various speakers on the panel session used the avenue to explore policy alignment, effective partnerships, and investment-ready models to overcome infrastructure challenges and improve project execution.
The three days Nigeria Infrastructure summit in collaboration with West Africa Infrastructure Expo with over thirty five exhibiting companies from countries including Austria, China, Ghana, India and the UAE, will end on Thursday.
Reporting by Yemisi Dada