Keys to Nigerias Infrastructural development

My Naija peoples, in this post I am talking about Public Private Partnerships (PPPs), a sustainable effort between the public and private sectors, in which each contributes planning and needed resources to accomplish mutual shared objectives. It is plain as the nose on my face that dynamic partnerships between the public and private sector have become the cradle of economic growth and development across the globe. All over the world, PPPs have continued to drive infrastructure development.

Since the 1960s, major capital projects in the developed world have been executed through PPP arrangements. In the past few decades, developed economies such as the United Kingdom have showcased a variety of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) for the delivery of infrastructure, public utilities and large-scale projects. Emerging markets such as India and South Africa are also recording successes using tried and tested partnerships to create, expand and modernize infrastructure.

Overwhelming evidence indicate that PPPs are relatively cost efficient, foster best practices for sharing and transfer of risk, assure superior value for money, save time, streamline contracts and simplify procurements, facilitate innovation through public-private cohesion, eradicate bureaucratic and political processes, encourage technology transfer all the while delivering infrastructure and services. The World Bank estimates that every 1% of (government) funds invested in infrastructure leads to an equivalent 1% increase in Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

No one can deny the fact that Nigeria’s infrastructure challenge is enormous. The Managing Director of Urban Development Bank of Nigeria (UDBN), Mr. Kunle Oyinloye, last year, said that the nation requires about N32 Trillion for infrastructural development in the next ten years to meet the federal Government’s vision 20-20-20 economic targets.

Unfortunately, Nigeria has not had an encouraging record of investment in infrastructure. Lately however, attention to infrastructure development is gaining momentum. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently called for the establishment of a Nigeria Infrastructure Fund where funds could be mobilized and developed to address Nigeria’s huge infrastructural deficit. It also stated that in terms of estimated funding gaps in infrastructure, Nigeria needs to invest $100billion (about N15 trillion) over the next 10 years.

Evidently, the government alone cannot gather together the resources (finance and expertise) to meet this need and the involvement of the private sector is not just desirable, but indispensable. It is no wonder therefore that the majority of infrastructure projects currently underway at both state and federal levels are powered by PPPs.

And opportunities for these types of partnerships abound. The Cross River state (CRS) government for example is seeking investors to develop the agricultural sector as it aims to see the region become a major food producer and exporter. Advantages of investing in Cross Rivers Agribusiness? Export promotion zones, a port, accessibility to Lagos and Abuja. These provide easy links to large markets and encourage faster clearance of goods.

Incentives?

The World Bank Sub-National Doing Business Report for Nigeria ranks CRS as one of the top four states for ease of doing business in Nigeria. The state’s One-stop Investment Center (OSIC) provides investment information, services and advice to potential investors. In addition, the state government is working to provide adequate infrastructure to meet growing consumer and business demands. These include:

• $150-million project to expand and upgrade Margaret Ekpo International Airport.
• Calabar Monorail
• $36-million investment on 19.8km rail connecting international airport, Calabar and TINAPA resort.
• Calabar Energy City, which is designed to develop an energy sector cluster with residential, commercial and industrial areas.
• Power Generation – there is an ongoing project to connect all communities to the national grid. There is also increased focus is also on renewable energy sources.

Akwa Ibom State has large deposits of a number of mineral resources that can be commercially exploited. And in Katsina state, preliminary results of a survey conducted indicates the presence of a large quantity of diamonds in the state.

All I am trying to point out is that opportunities abound for both the government and the private sector to take advantage of, for mutual benefits and for the development of the Nigerian society as a whole. Our slow national development is easily tied to the deficiency of  quality and functional infrastructure. In so many countries around the world including Africa, PPP strategies have been successfully utilized and exploited. Nigeria should not be an exception.