Nigeria Needs $100bn Infrastructure Investment Every Year, Engineers Say

Nigeria needs about $100bn in infrastructure investment every year, the Association for Consulting Engineering in Nigeria has said. ACEN President Kunle Adebajo put the country’s infrastructure deficit at $2.3tn and said government spending covers less than 30 per cent of the annual need.

Adebajo spoke on Tuesday in Lagos at the 48th Annual Conference and the 2026 AGM/Dinner of ACEN. The event was themed ‘Infrastructure Development in the Era of AI: Powering the Nigerian Economy’.

The Gap Is Huge

Adebajo said the shortfall cannot be solved by money alone. He called for productivity, more infrastructure, better design, timely delivery and full-life maintenance. "Nigeria needs roughly $100bn of infrastructure investment every year. Our infrastructure deficit is estimated at $2.3tn, and government spending costs cover less than 30 per cent of the annual need. So the gap is huge, and the gap of that size will not be closed just by money. It must be closed by productivity, more infrastructure, better design, delivered on time, and maintained for its full life," he said.

On the conference theme, Adebajo said AI has reduced the time needed for some work. He said digital tools show how a bridge or a dam is behaving, while predictive maintenance warns before failure, not after. He added that AI would allow a firm of maybe 30 people to do analytical drafting and documentation with capacity that previously required a firm of 300. "Of course, caution, used badly, or not even at all, and it widens the gap between us and the larger competitors. So the choice is ours, and it will not wait," he said.

Engineers Back Technology, Public Trust

Nigerian Society of Engineers President Ali Rabiu commended ACEN for advancing consulting engineering and providing a platform for professional engagement, intellectual exchange and the nation’s engineering and infrastructure agenda. He said the consulting engineering profession was indispensable to national development, "particularly at a time when our country must make deliberate choices about infrastructure investment, technological advancement, and economic transformation." He said, "And that is why the theme of this year’s conference is both timely and consequential." Rabiu said the theme examined how engineers could use technology, especially artificial intelligence, to accelerate infrastructure delivery, strengthen economic productivity and reposition Nigeria for sustainable development. He said no nation can achieve sustainable economic prosperity without infrastructure to support productive capacity. He said infrastructure was not just physical assets but the foundation for economic growth, industrialisation, national competitiveness and social development. "Roads, railways, seaports, airports, electricity networks, water systems, and digital infrastructure are essential enablers of commerce, manufacturing, agriculture, education, healthcare, and technological innovation," he added.

Lagos, COREN Speak

Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu said engineering decisions in Lagos affect how safely people travel and how efficiently businesses operate. He was represented by the Managing Director of Lagos State Public Works Corporation, Engr. Tokunbo Ajanaku. Sanwo-Olu said the conversation about artificial intelligence and the future of infrastructure was important to the state and commended ACEN for a theme that challenged Lagos to examine emerging technologies for pressing development needs. "This is why the conversation about artificial intelligence and the future of infrastructure is particularly important to us as a people and very importantly to us," he said.

Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria President Prof. Sadiq Abubakar said the theme was a challenge to engineers. He was represented by Vice President Engr Olaoluwa Ogunduyile. Abubakar said engineering is a public trust and AI offers tools to honour it through smarter designs, digital tools, predictive maintenance, intelligent power networks and more efficient project delivery. "Engineering, therefore, is not simply a profession, it is a public trust. Artificial intelligence offers us remarkable tools to honour that trust, from smarter designs and digital tools to predictive maintenance, intelligent power networks, and more efficient project delivery," he said. He warned that the intelligence in machines must never diminish professional responsibility.

The financing gap points to pressure on public budgets and a wider role for private capital in Nigerian infrastructure.