- says Nigeria $25bn annually to bridge infrastructure gap
From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu has approved the setting up of the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Fund to be domiciled in the Presidency.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said the approval is to bridge infrastructural gaps in which the country requires about $25 billion annually to bridge infrastructure deficit.
According to Idris, “This is a major one. We’re all aware that Nigeria is having challenges in terms of its infrastructure. Government, especially the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is determined to ensure that the infrastructural deficit that we all see in this country is bridged.
“Now there is a study that was made that Nigeria will require about $878 billion between 2016 and 2040 to bridge the gap. Now what that means is that from 2016 going to 2024, about $25 billion will be required annually to bridge that infrastructure deficit.
“Therefore, Mr. President in his wisdom and with the approval of the Federal Executive Council, today.”
Special Adviser Revenue, Zacch Adedeji, throwing more light on the fund said: “How do we sustainably mobilise resources to actually fund development of the country. And what we have observed is that we need national infrastructure backbone to get this done.
“If you look at the analysis of the integrated masterplan that was commissioned in 2020, we will require $895 billion in the next 10 years to actually bridged the gap of infrastructure problem that we have.
“For us to do that, it requires that we think outside the box and compare what has worked elsewhere, whether within our country or in other advanced countries that we are actually proud to be associated with.
“In coming up with this, in the wisdom of Mr President and the magnanimity the council, they approved the establishment of Renewed Hope Infrastructure Fund, as the catalyst to drive our infrastructure agenda.
“So, innovative fund consolidates existing resources to drive economic growth and connectivity across sectors like transport, agriculture, aviation and education and others. It helps for inclusive progress leaving no community behind and this is expanding the initial Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund that we have.
“This Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Fund unifies efforts streamline the projects delivery for maximum impact, it accelerates infrastructure development, sparking economic dynamism nationwide.
“The key objective of the fund is to invest in nationally critical projects in sectors that will promote growth, enhance local value addition through backward, forward and parallel linkages, create employment opportunities, promote technological innovation, promote exports.
“Potential sectors for focus, like I said, will be agriculture, energy technology, infrastructure, healthcare and education. However, these ones I’ve mentioned are just indicative of what we do.
“Then what is our goal is to actually establish an innovative infrastructure investment vehicle that we will use to attract and consolidate capital, serving as a driver for economic advancement. It is also having as part of goals to execute strategic and meticulously chosen national infrastructure across several key-sectors, like coastal road; the rail that we want to do, both southern and eastern rail; agricultural, spanning from irrigation, storage, logistics, and cold-chain and food security; ports and our airports and also to guarantee Nigerians that we’ll secure most advantageous arrangement in financing.
“So what is the strategic key focus for now? Like I said, we’ll focus more on road infrastructure, rail infrastructure, and agricultural infrastructure, ports revitalization and aviation enhancement. We believe that this vehicle will be one of the major vehicles, major-thinking-outside-the-box solution to our infrastructure gap.
“We believe, hopefully by the special grace of Almighty God, that Mr. President will launch this Fund after the Honorable Minister of Budget and Economic Planning would have done the Supplementary Budget that will take care of all these critical projects that we want to go on to.
“So we’ll look forward that the next few months, the fund will be launched and then it will be domiciled in Presidency as its precursor, which was the Presidential Infrastructure … This one is just expanding on that and then hopefully, in the next few years, we’ll be able to bridge the gap that we have infrastructure and then we’ll laid a solid foundation through which the food security, industrialization and all other wonderful aims that we have, we’ll be able to do. At the end of the day now help our internal revenue mobilization.”
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