One of the most popular construction firms across the South West region of Nigeria today is Craneburg Construction.
This construction firm has become one of the largest indigenous construction firms, quietly known for operating as a family-owned business linked to the late Access Bank MD/CEO, Herbert Wigwe. Founded by his wife, Chizoba Wigwe, the firm handled the construction of the Wigwe family’s landmark, multi-billion-dollar Queens Drive mansion in Ikoyi.
The company also pioneers innovative infrastructure financing in the region, such as its subnational public-private partnership (PPP) bond for the Ekiti State Motorway, which was recognized as the Best Project Bond in Africa
While many recognize them for visible urban projects like the reconstruction of the Lekki-Epe Expressway and Owerri road networks, several other details about their operations largely go unnoticed.
Craneburg made history by spearheading Nigeria’s first successful corporate infrastructure bond for a subnational Public-Private Partnership (PPP), earning the Best Project Bond in Africa award at the EMEA Finance Achievement Awards.
Beyond roads and bridges, they handle highly specialized, self-performed work such as heavy civil marine engineering (wharfs, ferry terminals), electrical engineering, and aviation infrastructure like the Ogun State Agro-Cargo Airport.
Operating across various sectors including oil and gas, they boast a workforce of thousands and have established a prominent national footprint with self-performed services in excavation, concrete forming, and steel erection.
Craneburg Construction was established by the late Mrs Wigwe in 2016 to offer diversified services to private clients and public agencies in Nigeria.
The late Chizoba Wigwe, wife of Herbert Wigwe, founded Craneburg Construction in 2016 and successfully ran it as its CEO until her tragic passing in February 2024. A lawyer turned entrepreneur, she grew the company into a major civil engineering firm with over 7,000 employees.
Under her management, Craneburg successfully handled the construction of major highways, flyovers, bridges, airports, and private skyscrapers. Notable projects included the Lekki-Epe expressway and toll plaza in Lagos, roads in Ondo, Imo, and Adamawa states, and the multi-billion naira Wigwe family estate in Ikoyi.
She ran the company with a reputation for being a quiet, shrewd achiever who preferred to let her team’s extensive engineering footprint speak for itself. Before Craneburg, Chizoba worked as an advisor in the legal area for a while, focusing on corporate law, commercial litigation, and arbitration.
Chizoba was a creative and business-minded law practitioner. Embodying concepts, she took a significant step into the business world when she founded Craneburg Construction, a firm specialising in building and civil construction with offices in Ikoyi, Lagos, Nigeria. The business expanded rapidly in a few years, successfully completing numerous large-scale projects nationwide.
It was craneburg firm that built the highways, bridges and toll plaza from Lekki Phase II to and within Epe town, making the journey to Ijebu Ode in Ogun State less arduous. It was your construction firm that built roads and flyovers in Ondo, Imo, Adamawa, Ogun, Bauchi, Gombe and other states.
Today, Craneburg is one of Nigeria’s largest, diversified construction groups that employs 7,000 people working across all major sectors of the economy.” In addition, Craneburg has worked on several significant projects, such as the Epe phase 1 project in 2017, which includes managing the renovation and restoration of Professor Agbalajobi’s, Lagos Road’s, and Oloja Estate’s roads.
The Yaba and Abule-Egba flyovers in Lagos, the 12.6 km bypass road in Okitipupa, Ondo State, and the Badeku interchange along the Ife-Ibadan expressway are just a few of the road projects in which Craneburg has been involved.
Others are the Ijebu Ode interchange flyover and the reconstruction of the Ijebu Ode-Epe Expressway with a flyover in Ogun State. The 49.5-kilometer Lekki-Epe Expressway renovation project is the most current and is anticipated to be finished in January of this year.
Craneburg did not only engage in road construction but also played a role in erecting notable structures. These include the distinctive bright blue Number One Lagos building (formerly known as IMB Plaza) situated in the Victoria Island neighbourhood of Lagos, the Access Bank branch in Apapa, and the runways at both the Anambra and Ogun airports.
Another thing we found out is that the wife of Hebert Wigwe was arguably richer than Wigwe himself. But nobody knew her on social media. Her father was the Head of Finance for Africa at SHELL PETROLEUM. He later joined NNPC as the Group General Manager of Finance and Accounts.
Hebert Wigwe’s wife returned from Europe when she was 26 to start a business in Nigeria.
Until her death, she was the CEO of Craneburg Construction. A company with over 7,000 employees that has done several road and project constructions for both state and federal governments. The woman was a silent achiever. In one interview with Ojy Okpe of Arise TV, Hebert Wigwe said that the greatest asset he had in his life was his wife. The truth is that there are many billionaires you cannot hear about on social media.
Isaac Abimbade
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