The inaugural West Africa Infrastructure Expo and HVACR Nigeria drew over 2,800 industry professionals to Lagos last week, as government, investors and contractors focused on turning infrastructure plans into projects.
Held from May 6-8 at the Landmark Centre, the co-located events brought together officials from the African Development Bank, Nigerian Society of Engineers, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, LAMATA and Siemens Energy, alongside contractors, engineers and technology providers.
The three-day programme featured three content streams: the Nigeria Infrastructure Summit, Infra360, and HVACR Talks. More than 1,200 people attended over 20 sessions covering project finance, bankable structures, BIM and GIS integration, waste management, and HVACR system design.
Deputy President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, Valerie Agberagba, urged faster delivery of infrastructure and called for greater use of domestic financing tools like pension funds and Sukuk. “A panel on mobilizing capital examined public-private partnerships, blended finance and sovereign investment vehicles”.
At Infra360, President of the Association of Waste Managers of Nigeria, Doctor Olugbenga Adebola, pushed for waste management to be built into infrastructure planning from the start, using circular economy practices to cut landfill use.For HVACR, Director and Regional Chair of ASHRAE Region at Large, Bassel Anbari,spoke on decarbonization, indoor air quality and workforce development.
Sessions also covered load calculations, VRF systems and commissioning best practices.On the exhibition floor, companies including PERI Formwork, Primlaks Industries, KELM Engineering, Thermax, TICA Air Conditioning and Gree Nigeria showcased products across infrastructure delivery, engineering and HVACR supply chains.
“West Africa Infrastructure Expo connected us directly with the stakeholders driving infrastructure growth across the region,” said Sunil Uplap, Chairman and Founder of Shubham Tanks and Liners. “The conversations we had were genuine and substantive.”
Organizer dmg events said both events would return from April 6-8, 2027, at the Landmark Centre while the edition will add the inaugural West Africa Warehousing & Logistics Expo to address demand in Nigeria’s growing logistics and supply chain sector.
“The quality of engagement across both exhibition floors and content programmes reflected an active market, technically informed and ready to do business,” said Josine Heijmans, Senior Vice President at dmg events.
Nigeria’s logistics costs currently stand at 23% of GDP, according to Trace Data Research. The Federal Ministry of Transportation aims to reduce this to below 15% by 2029 through the National Freight and Logistics Policy.
More information is available at http://www.westafricainfrastructureexpo.com and http://www.hvacrnigeria.com.
