Bridging Infrastructure gap Require $3trn- BPE
….. to Focus on PPP
The federal government will require about $3 trillion in the next 30 years to bridge infrastructure gap, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) has said.
In view of this development, the apex privatization agency said the next phase of its programme will be delivered through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) with the view to correcting the infrastructural deficit in the country.
Director General of BPE, Mr. Alex A. Okoh, confirmed this when he received a delegation from the World Bank led by the Senior Economist (Economics and Private Sector Development), Mr. Volker Treichel.
Okoh estimated that Nigeria needs to invest more than $3 trillion in the next 30 years to bridge the gap; and average of $100 billion per annum for the next six years.
The Director General, who was represented by Director, Infrastructure and Public Private Partnership Department of the Bureau, Mallam Sanusi Sule, said the new phase targets reforms mostly in the utility and infrastructure sectors which include; water resources, railways airports and highways.
He stated that the need for refocusing on PPP was borne out of the increasing budgetary constraints to fund the development of new infrastructure and effectively maintain existing ones; deteriorating infrastructure (dilapidated roads, schools, hospitals etc.); higher public expectations in terms of efficiency and effectiveness of infrastructure service delivery.
Okoh further said the country’s infrastructure stock was too low for any meaningful development and that “the public sector cannot afford to provide the resources required to bridge the huge infrastructural gap.”
He added that the most feasible option is to attract private sector investments and the Bureau is working assiduously with key stakeholders to come up with a robust framework and process for implementing and managing PPPs in the country.
Leader of the delegation, Treichel, said the visit was part of the World Bank’s private sector diagnostic assessment of the public sector in Nigeria.
He added that the Bank was also looking for opportunities to provide short term assistance to the Bureau in the next three years.