Construction & Real Estate

Although currency volatility and a recession in 2016 impacted private sector investment, public spending on new infrastructure has surged in recent years, and is expected to rise again for the remainder of 2018 and into 2019. However, public funds do not suffice to close the country’s widening infrastructure deficit, something that has led the government to increasingly target private sector investment to launch new projects. In addition to successful bond issuances that should relieve budgetary constraints and boost transport spending, the authorities have moved to increase the deployment of public-private partnerships to deliver big-ticket projects, a strategy that has had considerable success, and should keep the industry on the path towards positive growth going into 2019. Meanwhile, the real estate sector is set to stabilise in 2018 as markets absorb new supply, and macroeconomic indicators improve. The 2018 budget boosted public spending by 16% from 2017 levels, with a significant portion of funding channelled into new projects under the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, as well as the Federal Ministry of Transportation. This chapter contains interviews with Babatunde Fashola, Minister of Power, Works and Housing; and Paul Onwuanibe, CEO, Landmark Africa.