The Federal Government is shifting towards a self-financing infrastructure model that will see critical national assets, such as ports, highways, and solar power plants, concessioned to private operators, with proceeds used to repay loans tied to these projects.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, during an interview on Arise News on Thursday, as he addressed mounting public concerns over Nigeria’s borrowing strategy and the broader economic outlook.
“If you have a one-gigawatt solar project that is going up in the northern part of the country, once it is built perhaps with government funding, it will then be concessioned, and the returns, the tariffs paid by end users, will help to defray the cost of the debt,” Edun explained.
He emphasised that most of Nigeria’s recent loans are tied to specific infrastructure initiatives and are structured for medium-term repayment windows.
“There is no such thing as a $25 billion borrowing plan over six months or even over one year. “What was laid before the National Assembly is project-linked borrowing in line with the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework”, he clarified.
According to the minister, the government’s strategy is increasingly focused on revenue-generating projects that are attractive to private sector investors. He cited ongoing plans to expand port infrastructure and scale up solar power development as prime examples of projects that will generate user fees and draw private capital.
“These are revenue-generating projects. For example, the port expansion will bring in more business and user charges, which will help offset the cost of the loans,” he noted.
Edun added that the federal government is steadily moving away from overdependence on public funding for infrastructure.
The long-term goal, he said, is to create a framework where viable national assets can be transitioned into the hands of private operators through transparent concession agreements.