Gilbert Chagoury: Powering Nigeria’s Infrastructure Push

Nduka Nwosu 

The global and national media were recently awash with news that ITB, another construction wing of the Chagoury Group had been awarded the contract of upgrading the Apapa and Tin Can Island ports.

While it was news to the media, it was a welcome development in positive partnership between the group and the federal government in many respects. Whereas some analysts are looking at numbers, querying why Mr. President is so “enamoured” by the activities and milestone achievements of the drivers of this group, it is important to see Gilbert and Ronald Chagoury as adventurers in a hurry to register their names in the archives of national recognition, which in fact they already have.

The rest is a natural response to altruism that remains very much a part of Ambassador Chagoury’s track record in his numerous humanitarian assignments.

The turning point, if you like, the high point of the meeting of the two statesmen President Bola Tinubu and Gilbert Chagoury, was arranged by fate.

Those who were residents or workers whose offices were located at Victoria Island, and people who had one reason or the other to visit the island, can remember the nightmare associated with the Bar Beach and its regular over flow which scientists in particular oceanographers, predicted could submerge the island and possibly the Lagos Island. Several attempts were made by the federal government when Lagos was the capital territory of the nation, to contain the flooding but to no avail.

The meeting of both men gave hope that Lagos would not be submerged like Atlantis, the lost continent of the Pacific. Gilbert and his brother Ronald performed the miracle, not magic.

The Chagoury Group not only halted the invasion of Lagos by the Atlantic storm surge, it turned a natural disaster, a potential and rising hurricane, to a fortune by transforming the roaring sea into the now modern, state of the art Eko Atlantic City.

It is only interesting to know why President Tinubu and Chagoury crossed each other’s paths.

In my many encounters with the Nigerian leader, especially as Governor of Lagos State, he took me down memory lane and once with the First Lady beside him, guided by Dele Alake, now Solid Minerals Minister, at his then Alausa office, on how he became a taxi driver in the US as a student at the Chicago State University, struggling through life, and was too eager to return home where he believed the future beckoned. One evening on late dinner in his Bourdillon home with former Ogun State Governor and my boss at Daily Times, Segun Osoba, Tinubu spoke of his long-term vision for Lagos State and his greater wishes for the nation.

Now that he is on the driver’s seat of statecraft at the centre, it is only expected some of his dreams for Lagos are rubbing off on a higher scale for the country.

We heard his spin managers speak glowingly on that note. As has been chronicled here, the Chagourys were part of that game plan for Lagos State. Now he has brought them to the centre-stage, it is expected those dreams would fly with wings of accomplishment.

Coming to the official launch of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, Mr. President could not hide his profuse delight in his old friend Gilbert and his brother Engr. Ronald Chagoury, owners of Hitech Construction Company Limited, the project builders, describing them as worthy stakeholders who believe in the future of Nigeria.

He reminded his audience where he was coming from with them: “Together, we worked to tame the Atlantic, and we turned a disaster into a great asset of value. We lost weight and took insults, but eventually, we tamed the Atlantic. We achieved our goals,” recalling the oft-repeated narrative of how the indigenous company successfully executed a project “to prevent the Atlantic Ocean from encroaching on critical sections of the Lagos shoreline.

President Tinubu was so overwhelmed he screamed bravo and poured libation to the glory of God.

He called Gilbert “my partner in daring,” for not only making the impossible possible, but went beyond that to create an El Dorado from a natural disaster waiting to happen.

Both brothers, no doubt, were daring adventurers who were not afraid of walking through the path not chosen for exploration. Two examples stand out: the new Lagos Atlantic City and now the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway; both draw their graphic imageries in adventurism, into the path not trodden. It is only interesting to know why President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Gilbert crossed each other’s paths.

He reminded his audience where he was coming from with them: “Together, we worked to tame the Atlantic, and we turned a disaster into a great asset of value. We lost weight and took insults, but eventually, we tamed the Atlantic. We achieved our goals,” recalling the oft-repeated narrative of how the indigenous company successfully executed a project “to prevent the Atlantic Ocean from encroaching on critical sections of the Lagos shoreline.

The highway project, which is privately funded, will also play a pivotal role in complementing the expansion of Nigeria’s maritime industry. The United Nations’ recent decision to extend Nigeria’s continental shelf by an additional 16,300 square kilometers, we were reminded, has opened new economic opportunities, particularly in maritime trade.

The President went ahead to stress the need to leverage on these opportunities to establish more export processing zones along the coastal states.

The Chagoury Group is well equipped to spearhead this transformation process, which will be more of a contribution to the growth of nation building and etching its name on the sand of posterity, beyond the acquisition of lucre, an evanescent fragrance in the passage of time.

“Today is my day to boast. The deal is done. The dream is realisable. The determination to build a nation of prosperity is possible. We said we would build this road, and we are determined to do it. Do not be afraid. We will do this road, and it will be a success for Nigeria, and we will do even more of this,” the President said.

That is the spirit of adventure captured by Mr. President and the Chagoury brothers in their quest for a greater Nigerian nation.

Chagoury once said philanthropy was at the chore of his belief system and has defined his ultimate vision and mission in life. Discussing the humanitarian activities of these great brothers is like talking about their numerous investments across many countries in the continent. When it was mentioned the Chagoury brothers were cooking for Covid 19 victims in Lagos State, as well as donating one billion naira to the state government to help combat the disease which was ravaging the world, Nigeria inclusive, many people felt this was something innovative. It was not. Charity has always been second nature to them.

Very few people have a knowledge of who the Chagoury brothers-Gilbert and Ronald are. The reason is understandable.

The Chagourys are shy of public display of their success story; as a result, those who do not know them draw the wrong conclusions. Those who do are glad there are such comparable elements to the Aliko Dangotes and other public spirited figures helping to drive the economic growth of the nation to the Promised Land.

Beyond this still, the Chagoury brothers remain global citizens, statesmen in their own rights and by their own accomplishments.They have refused to lean on the larger-than-life image destiny carved into their Odyssey between Lebanon and Nigeria.

In spite of their seeming unwillingness to latch on to this image, it is obvious that Gilbert and Ronald were prepared by circumstances of birth to be major players in global business, politics, and statecraft.

We learn that ITB, which is in partnership with the Belgian based company DEME Group, is contracted to handle the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) work for the two ports, with project delivery pegged at 48 months.

The UK Export Finance (UKEF) will guarantee the loans being provided by Ecobank for the upgrading of the two ports as well as the building of a new terminal 

The project, valued at over $1 billion, is being developed following a 45-year concession agreement between the Swiss shipping giant and the federal government

 The team will construct a 910-metre quay designed to accommodate large deep-sea vessels and barges.

The facility will feature a 30-hectare yard equipped with ship-to-shore (STS) cranes and hybrid rubber-tyred gantries (RTG).

Initial dredging will reach a depth of -16.5 metres, with the design allowing for future deepening to 18 metres with the capacity to handle the world’s largest container ships.

Construction, it is understood, is currently ongoing, with a targeted completion date in 2028.

The terminal is part of a broader strategy to decongest the existing Apapa and Tin Can Island ports and establish Snake Island Port as a major global shipping hub.

The £746 million loan from Citibank, it is understood may receive financial support from

Afreximbank while the country’s largest container terminal-APM Terminal, a subsidiary of AP Moller-Maersk Group that operates Apapa Ports is said to be willing to stake $500 million by way of investment. The ports are ranked as a first preference for global shipping lines in Africa.

 Meanwhile the Dubai based,DP World Chairman, Sultan bin Ahmed bin Sulayem had audience with President Tinubu as a new port operator. over the years, exuded that image of the benevolent African big man having served as Presidential and economic adviser and big-ticket investor with a greater fascination in construction and manufacturing, in many African countries as well as ambassador to a number of African countries.

Just as he is strong in the provision of public infrastructure in Nigeria, back home in Lebanon, he is active in the building of public infrastructure, in the development of health, and educational projects. A devout Catholic, Chagoury’s philanthropy is universal and is not defined by religion or colour but the brotherhood of man and service to God.

His philanthropy knows no bounds.