The Unites States is building a new $537 million consulate in Nigeria’s commercial hub to further support diplomatic and commercial relations between the two countries.
The 10-storey building — planned for a 12-acre site in Lagos — will be the biggest American consulate in the world when it is completed in 2027, Mary Leonard, the U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, said at a groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday.
It is intended to strengthen collaboration between the U.S. and Africa’s most populous country in areas including “music, arts, technology and entrepreneurship,” she said.
The U.S. is Nigeria’s third-biggest trading partner, after China and India, with $5.4 billion in total trade in 2020.
The new consulate will be the anchor tenant of the multibillion-dollar Eko Atlantic development in Lagos, a 10 square-kilometer (3.8 square mile) piece of reclaimed oceanfront land designed to be a self-sufficient and sustainable commercial and residential district.
The contract for the design and building was awarded to Pernix Federal, LLC of Lombard, Illinois, the consulate said in a statement.