TransNational Corporation (TRANSCORP), the owner of Nigeria’s iconic hotel, Transcorp Hilton Hotel Abuja is set to invest $110 million in the construction of a branch of the hotel in Lagos, the commercial capital of Nigeria.

The company’s CEO, Obinna Ufudo disclosed to Reuters that the hotel, which will be sited in Ikoyi, will be completed in 36 months.

“We have concluded all designs … what we are waiting for is the approval from the state building authority to commence construction,” he added.

Like Transcorp Hilton Abuja, the Lagos branch of the hotel will also be managed by Hilton. It will house 100 rooms relatively small compared to the 667 guest rooms and suites of the Abuja branch. Transcorp also launched a branch of its hotel –Transcorp Metropolitan Hotel – in Calabar, the capital of Cross River State and tourism hub of Nigeria.

Nigeria is enjoying a boom in its hospitality sector thanks to the number of tourists, business travellers, and a growing middle class. Industry executives say, Reuters reported, “that as consumer spending stalls in developed markets, more multinationals are betting Africa’s growth will eventually translate into meaningful revenue if they can negotiate the considerable regulatory and infrastructure challenges of doing business there”.

Transcorp, a business conglomerate with interests in Power, Energy, Hospitality and Agriculture, shares this same confidence in Africa; aside the $110 million hotel investment, its CEO also revealed that the company would invest $90 million to upgrade the generation capacity of its power plant to 715 megawatts from 463 megawatts.

Among the hotels and Ughelli Power Plant, Transcorp also owns Teragro Commodities Limited, operator of Teragro Benfruit Plant – Nigeria’s first-of-its-kind juice concentrate plant; and Transcorp Energy Limited, operator of OPL 281.

Incorporated in 2004 and quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, Transcorp has a shareholder base of about 300,000 investors, the largest of which is Heirs Holdings Limited, a pan-African proprietary investment company. Shares in the company gained 33 percent this year, after rising 314 percent in 2013.

2014-07-22