The Chief Executive Officer of Orange Island, Yinka Ogunsulire, has called on the federal government to establish a Construction and Infrastructure Bank to provide long-term, affordable financing for projects critical to Nigeria’s growth.
Speaking at the 2025 Annual Conference of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), Nigeria Group, themed ‘Building for 300 Million,’ Ogunsulire said that the time had come for Nigeria to rethink its approach to financing the built environment.
“We should all support the call for a dedicated Construction and Infrastructure Bank, one that truly understands the built environment,” she said. “Interest rates above 30 percent make it almost impossible to deliver affordable housing or large-scale infrastructure. Such a bank must offer single-digit interest rates, longer tenures, and technical expertise to manage project lifecycles and risk.”
According to her, a specialised bank would act as a “true financial partner” to the construction and real estate sectors, mobilising patient capital for development. She noted that initiatives like the MoFI Real Estate Investment Fund already point in the right direction, mobilising long-term and affordable capital for housing and infrastructure.
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Ogunsulire further urged government and private sector players to build on this momentum by expanding participation, improving transparency, and ensuring that funds reach projects that directly impact ordinary Nigerians.
“We must deploy a wider mix of innovative tools – urban development funds, blended finance, municipal bonds, tax incentives, and stronger local government revenue systems,” she added. “Financing bridges ideas and impact, turning plans into homes, jobs, and infrastructure.”
In his remarks, Chairman of the RICS Nigeria Group, Tayo Odunsi, said Nigeria’s fast-growing population, projected to reach 300 million, requires professionals in the built environment to move from expertise to purposeful action.
“This growth presents extraordinary opportunities and challenges,” Odunsi noted. “As professionals – estate surveyors, valuers, land and building surveyors, project managers, and financiers – we must deliver not just infrastructure, but quality, sustainability, and resilience.”
He urged professionals to uphold RICS global standards and ensure that every project contributes to a more efficient and inclusive built environment.
Also speaking, Uche Obi, a member of the Global Governing Council of RICS, said the conference theme reflected the urgency and scale of Nigeria’s development needs.
“From the 250 million people who call this country home today to the 300 million projected within a generation, the need for infrastructure, housing, and professional excellence has never been greater,” he said.
Obi described Nigeria as a vital cornerstone of RICS’s global network, noting that Lagos remains a major hub for commerce and professional collaboration across West Africa.
“Nigerian professionals now work seamlessly between Lagos and London, and collaboration between surveyors, lawyers, and developers is crossing borders like never before,” he added.
The conference brought together leading voices in construction, finance, and real estate, who shared ideas on how Nigeria can prepare for its demographic and urban expansion through sustainable infrastructure financing and professional innovation.
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