Lagos State Government and Julius Berger Nigeria Plc have outlined infrastructure, investment and public-private partnerships as critical drivers in the state’s ambition to grow its economy to between $800 billion and $1 trillion by 2052.
The vision was unveiled at the 2026 Julius Berger Luminary Soirée, held at the Alliance Française de Lagos, Mike Adenuga Centre, Ikoyi, under the theme, “The Lagos Proposition: Unlocking Value in a City in Transformation.”
The annual gathering attracted developers, architects, consultants, financiers, investors, policymakers and other key players in the built environment and business sectors.
Speaking at the event, the Managing Director of Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, Engr. Dr Peer Lubasch, said Lagos’ rapid expansion presented both significant opportunities and major responsibilities for policymakers, investors and infrastructure developers.
Lubasch said the company deliberately chose the word “proposition” for the theme because transforming Lagos’ potential into tangible economic value would require deliberate planning and effective execution.
“Potential alone does not build a city; execution does,” he said.
He noted that Lagos was experiencing rapid population growth, rising housing demand and expanding infrastructure needs, with development increasingly spreading beyond traditional commercial centres to areas such as the Lekki-Epe corridor, the Lagos-Ibadan axis and other emerging growth locations.
“The question is no longer whether Lagos will grow, but where growth is concentrated, how it can be sustained, and whether what is being built today will stand the test of time,” Lubasch said.
Drawing on Julius Berger’s more than six decades of operations in Nigeria, he highlighted the company’s involvement in major roads, bridges, airports, industrial facilities and landmark buildings across the country.
He said Julius Berger’s competitive advantage extended beyond construction to an integrated project-delivery model encompassing engineering, logistics, procurement, manufacturing, specialist building solutions and facility management.
According to him, the approach allows the company to manage projects from conception through operation while maintaining a single chain of accountability.
Lubasch also challenged the perception that Julius Berger’s projects were expensive, arguing that infrastructure should be assessed based on its total lifecycle value rather than its initial construction cost.
“Many people say Julius Berger is expensive. But when you look at the lifecycle of an asset, you find that asset value is preserved. Our philosophy is not to optimise for the day of handover but to optimise for the lifetime of the asset,” he said.
He explained that higher initial investment in quality engineering and construction could result in lower maintenance costs, reduced downtime, greater durability and stronger long-term asset value.
Lagos’ $1tn Economic Ambition
Delivering the keynote address, the Lagos State Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment, Mrs Folashade Ambrose-Medebem, described Julius Berger as an important partner in Lagos’ transformation agenda.
She said sustainable transformation depended on the convergence of vision, leadership, infrastructure, investment and execution.
“Julius Berger brings decades of engineering excellence and the capacity to turn bold ideas into tangible infrastructure, while Lagos State brings scale, ambition, enterprise, talent, and an extraordinary pipeline of opportunity,” she said.
Ambrose-Medebem disclosed that Lagos’ economy was currently valued at about $260 billion on a purchasing-power-parity basis, making it the second-largest city economy in Africa and accounting for more than 30 per cent of Nigeria’s economic output.
She said the state’s long-term development strategy was anchored on the Lagos State Development Plan 2052, a 30-year blueprint containing 447 initiatives across 21 strategic sectors.
The plan seeks to grow Lagos into an economy valued between $800 billion and $1 trillion by 2052, she said.
She added that the Lagos State Industrial Policy 2025–2030 was designed to strengthen manufacturing, support small businesses, improve infrastructure and promote innovation.
The commissioner also disclosed that Lagos attracted N50 billion in investments over the past year, citing Twinings Ovaltine Nigeria’s establishment of its first African production facility in the state as evidence of growing investor confidence.
She said Lagos’ ranking as Nigeria’s leading state in ease-of-doing-business reforms reflected deliberate efforts to create a more competitive environment for businesses and investors.
Infrastructure, Housing at the Centre
Ambrose-Medebem identified infrastructure as a major pillar of Lagos’ economic transformation, citing the Lekki Deep Sea Port, Lagos Free Zone, Blue and Red Rail Lines and emerging industrial corridors as projects helping reposition the state as a regional hub for trade, logistics, manufacturing and investment.
She disclosed that the state’s 2026 budget allocated N1.467 trillion to infrastructure, describing the allocation as evidence of government’s commitment to supporting economic growth.
On housing, the commissioner said Lagos currently faced a deficit of about 3.4 million housing units, requiring more than 227,000 new homes annually and approximately N6 trillion in yearly investment to close the gap.
“No government anywhere in the world can solve a six-trillion-naira annual housing challenge alone,” she said, calling for stronger collaboration between government and private-sector stakeholders.
According to her, Lagos’ future would depend on co-created solutions rather than government action alone.
She therefore urged investors and businesses to partner with the state in delivering its long-term development objectives.
“We have published our plan to 2052, we have our industrial policy to 2030 and we have committed substantial resources to infrastructure. What we ask in return is the capacity, discipline and commitment to build at the speed the plan demands,” she said.
A major highlight of the evening was a panel discussion moderated by Ayo Mairo-Ese and featuring Yomi Ademola, Chairman of Alaro City and Rendeavour; Kunle Adebajo, CEO of Arup Nigeria; and Odunayo Ojo, CEO of UPDC Plc.
The panel examined key issues around infrastructure development, housing delivery, industrialisation and investment opportunities in Lagos.
The discussions reinforced a central message from the event: that Lagos’ ability to unlock its projected trillion-dollar economic potential will depend not only on ambition, but on the quality of infrastructure, effective public-private partnerships and disciplined, long-term execution.
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