West Africa Infrastructure Expo and HVACR Nigeria draw more than 2 800 industry professionals at inaugural editions in Lagos

West Africa Infrastructure Expo and HVACR Nigeria brought together more than 2 800 industry professionals across Nigeria’s infrastructure delivery and heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVACR) sectors over three days, concluding their inaugural editions at the Landmark Centre in Lagos.

The co-located events connected government representatives, investors, contractors, engineers, technology providers and HVACR specialists with local and international suppliers, and prioritised Nigeria’s infrastructure investment and execution agenda. Leading voices from institutions including the African Development Bank, Nigerian Society of Engineers, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, LAMATA and Siemens Energy contributed to the discussions and programmes across both events.

Knowledge sharing across content streams

Over three days, the events hosted three distinct content streams, delivering over 20 sessions and engaging more than 1 200 attendees.

Nigeria Infrastructure Summit gathered senior public and private sector representatives to discuss Nigeria’s infrastructure investment, execution and delivery agenda.

Engr Valerie Agberagba, deputy president of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, set the tone for the Nigeria Infrastructure Summit, stressing that Nigeria must accelerate infrastructure delivery and called for greater use of domestic financing instruments such as pension funds and sukuk.

A high-level panel on mobilising capital at scale featuring Oluebube Anele, Investment & Growth funding adviser; Vivien Naidoo, director at Turner & Townsend; Femi Awofala, founder & CEO of The African Catalyst; and Ometere Omoluabi-Davies, regional integration co-ordinator at the African Development Bank: Nigeria Country Department, examined Nigeria’s evolving project finance landscape, addressing public-private partnerships, blended finance, sovereign investment vehicles and building investor-ready project structures with clear regulatory frameworks and risk-mitigation tools.

Complementing the summit, at Infra360, Dr Olugbenga Adebola, national president of the Association of Waste Managers of Nigeria, addressed integrating waste management into infrastructure planning from project inception, strengthening cross-sector collaboration and leveraging circular economy practices to reduce landfill dependency.

Sessions also examined unlocking private capital through bankable project structures and the integration of building information modelling (BIM) and geographic information systems (GIS) for improved project co-ordination, reduced rework and faster delivery.

At HVACR Talks, Bassel Anbari, director and regional chair for ASHRAE Region at Large, delivered a leadership keynote, addressing ASHRAE’s strategic direction and its role in advancing technical excellence, sustainability and international collaboration across the HVACR industry, with emphasis on decarbonisation, indoor environmental quality and workforce development.

Practical system design and installation best practices – including load calculations, ducted and variable refrigerant flow system design and commissioning – were also covered throughout the sessions.

Exhibition highlights

The exhibition floor connected public and private sector leaders with local and international suppliers across six infrastructure sectors and the full HVACR supply chain. Across the West Africa Infrastructure Expo exhibition floor, participating companies included PERI Formwork and Scaffolding Nigeria, Primlaks Industries, KELM Engineering, Esquire Machines, Shubham Tanks and SWARCO Road Marking Systems, representing expertise across infrastructure delivery, engineering and technical solutions.

“West Africa Infrastructure Expo connected us directly with the stakeholders driving infrastructure growth across the region. The conversations we had were genuine and substantive and we leave with strong confidence that they will open doors to future business. West Africa is a market we believe in and we look forward to continuing to show up across the region,” said Sunil Uplap, chairperson and founder of Shubham Tanks and Liners.

At HVACR Nigeria, endorsed by AHRI and ASHRAE RAL, exhibiting brands included Thermax, TICA Air Conditioning, Artech2000, Air Master and AHI Carrier, covering the full range of air conditioning, refrigeration, ventilation and building automation solutions relevant to Nigeria’s market.

“Participating in HVACR Nigeria has been a highly valuable experience. The event provided a strong ground to showcase our cooling solutions while connecting with industry professionals and decision-makers across the market. The engagement we’ve witnessed throughout the event has created valuable partnership and growth opportunities. We look forward to returning with a stronger presence in the future editions,” said Kenneth Ozomah, head of Marketing for Gree Nigeria.

Looking ahead

West Africa Infrastructure Expo and HVACR Nigeria will return for their second editions from 6 to 8 April 2027 at Landmark Centre, Lagos, co-located with the launch edition of West Africa Warehousing & Logistics Expo.

The new event will serve as a dedicated trade exhibition for the intralogistics industry in West Africa, addressing warehouse management software, inventory and distribution technology, ground conveyors, order-picking systems, guided robots, storage and production controls, identification and labelling solutions and loading and distribution technology.

The launch of the new event complements the growth of Nigeria’s logistics and warehousing sector, which is driven by rising domestic consumption, expanding e-commerce activity and increasing infrastructure investment across the country. The region’s logistics costs currently represent 23% of gross domestic product, with the Federal Ministry of Transportation’s National Freight and Logistics Policy targeting a reduction to below 15% by 2029 through co-ordinated infrastructure development and private sector participation.

“The inaugural editions of West Africa Infrastructure Expo and HVACR Nigeria demonstrated the appetite that exists in Nigeria for focused, commercially driven industry events. 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 of dmg events.

“We are returning in 2027 with both events and launching West Africa Warehousing & Logistics Expo alongside them. Nigeria’s logistics and warehousing sector is growing rapidly and the demand for solutions across intralogistics, distribution technology and supply chain management is clear. Bringing that audience into the same environment as infrastructure and HVACR professionals is a natural next step.”