Adopt PPP model to tackle $3 trn infrastructure deficit, Expert urges FG

A business consultant, Mr Nerus Ekezie, on Thursday called on the Federal Government to  explore more Public Private Partnership (PPP) models as  measures to tackle the country’s $3 trillion infrastructure deficit.

Ekezie, who is a former Director, of National Association of Small and Medium Enterprises,(ASME), made the call in an interview with  the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

He noted that considering that infrastructure developmental was cardinal to the growth of businesses, more PPP approaches were the best ways of improving businesses and the economy.

“Now that private participation is the way to go in closing the nation’s infrastructure gap in the face of dwindling government revenue, the government should begin to repeal most of its laws regarding infrastructure.

“This is in order to allow for more private sector led investment,’’ he said.

He noted that the Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) was another alternative that government could use to enhance the country’s infrastructural gap.

“This model allows private sector to invest funds, manage for few years, before handing it to the government.

“This form of practice is what other climes have used to revamp their key infrastructural needs.’’

According to him, the government should only participate in areas of policy formulation and regulatory roles to encourage more private investment into infrastructure development.

NAN reports that Nigeria requires a whopping $3 trillion to bridge its infrastructure gap over a 30-year period, the   Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed said on Monday.

Speaking at one-day workshop on Maximising Finance for Development (MFD) of Infrastructure in Nigeria organised by the World Bank Group in Abuja, she said the cash amounts to roughly $100 billion per year. (NAN)