By Daniel Oluwatobiloba Popoola
The Lagos State Government has identified structured public-private partnerships (PPPs) as a key strategy for tackling the state’s housing and infrastructure deficits, describing the gaps as both a major social challenge and a significant commercial opportunity.
The state Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment, Folashade Bada Ambrose-Medebem, stated this on Wednesday, 9 September, 2026, while delivering the keynote address at the Julius Berger Luminary Soirée 2026 in Lagos, themed, “The Lagos Proposition | Unlocking Value in a City in Transformation.”
Ambrose-Medebem said Lagos’ scale and economic importance required a development plan that was measurable, properly funded and effectively implemented.
Citing the Lagos Economic Development Update, she said the state’s gross domestic product stood at $259.75 billion on a purchasing power parity basis in 2023, making it the second-largest city economy in Africa after Cairo and accounting for more than 30 per cent of Nigeria’s total economic output.
She said the Lagos State Development Plan 2052 was built around four pillars: a thriving economy, a human-centric city, modern infrastructure and effective governance.
The plan comprises 447 initiatives across 21 strategic sectors monitored through a digital delivery platform.
According to the commissioner, the plan targets economic growth to between $800 billion and $4.838 trillion, an increase in per-capita income from $4,838 to $20,000, a rise in the state’s liveability score from 31.2 to 55, 12 gigawatts of additional power generation and an increase in small and medium enterprise participation from 0.3 per cent to 10 per cent.
On industrial development, Ambrose-Medebem said manufacturing contributed 9.57 per cent to the state’s economy in the first quarter of 2026, representing 3.29 per cent year-on-year growth, against the Lagos State Industrial Policy target of 10.2 per cent.
She disclosed that the ministry attracted more than N50 billion in investments within a year, including a N38 billion commitment by Twinings Ovaltine Nigeria Limited to establish its first production site in Africa in Lagos.
The investment, she said, created 112 direct jobs, supported a distributor network of more than 200 businesses and offered export potential of over $8 million to West African markets.
Ambrose-Medebem also said the state’s business reforms had qualified Lagos for the World Bank-supported State Action on Business Enabling Reforms (SABER) programme.
She noted that the 2026 budget stood at N4.444 trillion, with N2.338 trillion earmarked for capital expenditure. Of that amount, N1.467 trillion was allocated to infrastructure, representing a 53:47 capital-to-recurrent expenditure ratio.
The commissioner disclosed that Lagos’ housing deficit had risen from 2.95 million units in 2016 to 3.4 million units, with the state requiring about 227,576 additional housing units annually and an estimated N6 trillion in annual capital investment.
She further cited the state’s property price-to-income ratio of 19.2, far above the 5.0 threshold at which housing is considered severely unaffordable.
Ambrose-Medebem said the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund had disbursed more than N15 billion to 20,000 enterprises since 2016, creating over 320,000 direct and indirect jobs and preserving another 173,000 jobs, with a repayment rate of 94.53 per cent.
She also highlighted the LASMECO programme, implemented in partnership with the Bank of Industry and Sterling Bank, which provides loans of up to N10 million at nine per cent interest without collateral and is expected to create at least 10,000 jobs.
The commissioner said Lagos’ economic transformation was also spreading to emerging growth corridors in Epe, Badagry and Ikorodu.
She commended Julius Berger for its cashew processing plant in Epe, which she said processes 60 tonnes daily and employs more than 300 people.
She also disclosed that the Ministry of Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment was preparing to commission the Imota Light Industrial Park, comprising 44 purpose-built factory units for small-scale manufacturers.
Earlier, the Managing Director of Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, Dr Peer Lubasch, said Lagos’ potential could only translate into development through effective execution.
He observed that the city’s traditional economic centre was shifting eastward along the Lekki-Epe axis, northward along the Lagos-Ibadan corridor and westward through improved connectivity.
Lubasch said the key question was no longer whether Lagos would grow, but where sustainable growth would be concentrated.
He reaffirmed Julius Berger’s 60-year presence in Nigeria, which began with the construction of Eko Bridge in Lagos, and highlighted the company’s integrated capability model, including in-house design and engineering through PrimeTech, its JBI Germany subsidiary, Abu Med Aluminium and Glass, AFP Interior Fit-outs and dedicated facility management services.
