Nigeria holds the largest number of projects in West Africa with 21 projects (28%), valued at US$54.2bn (67.1% in US dollar value terms). This is according to the Africa Construction trends 2019. Here are the largest construction projects in Nigeria and their value.
Centenary City
Centenary City is the largest and most expensive construction project in Nigeria. It is estimated to cost $18 billion to construct.It is a planned city, located in the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria. Centenary City is a master-planned development overseen by Centenary City Developers FZE, in a joint venture agreement with Centenary City PLC and Front Range Developers FZE, as part of Nigeria’s vision to create the city of the future smart city along the same lines as Dubai, Monaco and Singapore.
The city is to be built from scratch on a 1,260 hectares of virgin land located several kilometres southeast of Nigeria’s capital, Abuja and five kilometers from the International Airport.
The City will have a mixed-use urban centre, a central business district, a financial centre, a museum and cultural centre to promote African and global arts, world-class hotels, Grade A offices, residential districts, an 18-hole golf course, polo and country club, an international convention center, sports and leisure facilities, a safari Park, educational institutions, healthcare and community amenities.It is to be private-sector driven.
Centenary City has been declared an Economic City and approved for Free Trade Zone (FTZ) status by Nigeria Export Processing Zone Authority (NEPZA).
Dangote refinery
Dangote refinery is one of the largest construction projects in Nigeria. It is a 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) integrated refinery and petrochemical project under construction in the Lekki Free Zone near Lagos, Nigeria. It is expected to be the Africa’s biggest oil refinery and the world’s biggest single-train facility, upon completion in 2020.
Dangote Oil Refinery, a company owned by the Nigeria-based Dangote Group, is developing the project with an estimated investment of $12bn.
The Dangote refinery will process a variety of light and medium grades of crude to produce Euro-V quality clean fuels including gasoline and diesel as well as jet fuel and polypropylene.
The integrated refinery and petrochemical project is expected to generate 9,500 direct and 25,000 indirect jobs.
Olokola Deapsea Port
Olokola Deapsea Port is a project that is set to be constructed in Ondo State. It has been positioned to offer the South-West zone strategic shipping market and huge job opportunity, with a high prospect of redefining the economic power of the zone. Olokola Deep Seaport is expected to cost $12 billion making it one of the most expensive and largest construction projects in Nigeria.
Officials in Nigeria believe that once Olokola Deep Seaport comes on stream, it will create no less than a million jobs, directly and indirectly, as well as position the South West as a regional economic bloc to beat. It has the capacity to attract over $9 billion in revenue annually, making it a major industrial estate.
Port of Onne Complex
The Port of Onne Complex contains two major terminals: the Federal Ocean Terminal and the Federal Lighter Terminal. The Federal Ocean Terminal has 750 meters of quay and three births. Work is underway that will bring the total length to 1500 meters and the number of berths to six.
The Federal Lighter Terminal has 1670 meters and four berths operated by Intels. The berths have been repaired and deepened to eight meters to accommodate some larger vessels.
The Port of Onne is an Oil and Gas Free Zone by Federal decree. Today, over 110 companies operate in the zone that have made significant contributions to Nigeria’s economy through their businesses of pipe-coating, selling pipes, treating waste, and building boats as well as other activities. The port is expected to cost $2.7 billion to construct.
Lagos – Badagry Expressway Expansion Project
The Lagos-Badagry Expressway is the local name for the Nigerian section of the Trans–West African Coastal Highway.The expressway connects Lagos, Nigeria with Dakar, Senegal.
Extensive reconstruction of the Lagos portion of the expressway began in 2010.When those renovations are completed the Lagos portion of the expressway will be widened from four lanes to ten lanes for road vehicles and a new mass transit line will operate in the median. Two of the expressway’s lanes are intended to be exclusively used by the Lagos Bus Rapid Transit System. Construction work is expected to cost $1.9 billion.
Lagos – Ibadan Railway Modernisation Project
Lagos – Ibadan Railway Modernisation Project is a section of the greater Lagos–Kano Standard Gauge Railway.
A $1.53 billion contract was awarded in 2012 to the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation for construction of the Lagos–Ibadan segment (156 km) of the standard gauge railway by 2016. However, the project has also faced delays.
A ground-breaking ceremony finally took place on 7 March 2017, and the railway was scheduled for completion in December 2018. Construction was delayed by heavy rains in Spring 2018, and the Nigerian government had to deploy soldiers to protect the railway workers from hoodlums and armed robbers.
Construction was further delayed by the 2019 Nigerian general election, when CCECC evacuated its Chinese employees as a precaution. The project has been implemented by the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC).Track laying for the SGR project was completed in April this year. Set to cost $1.5 billion, the Lagos – Ibadan Railway Modernisation Project is among the largest construction projects in Nigeria.
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