The Director-General, Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission, Chidi Izuwah, said the Federal Government gave approval to Public Private Partnership’s projects worth about $8bn between 2010 and 2018.
Izuwah, who said this on Thursday at the joint PPP network meeting in Abuja, noted that the amount was approved based on the regulatory guidance of the ICRC.
The forum was created as a mutual vehicle to provide a one-point platform for the Federal Government’s PPP units.
The idea of the joint forum of strategic enablers within the PPP ecosystem is to strengthen synergy among key policy drivers across the PPP environment in the country.
Izuwah said as of June 25 this year, there were 69 post-contract PPP projects under implementation at the ICRC’s Projects Disclosure Portal.
The portal, according to him, is the first disclosure portal in the world, established by the ICRC in collaboration with the World Bank.
He said, “As of October 31, 2019, there are 139 pre-contract projects at the Development and Procurement phases at the ICRC website.
“Between 2010 and 2018, under the regulatory guidance of the ICRC, the Nigerian Government has approved the PPP projects worth almost $8bn.”
He said as at the end of October, the commission had granted nine Outline Business Case and nine Full Business Case Compliance Certificates for 2019.
This, he stated, brought the total compliance certificates granted since inception to 76 OBCs and 31 FBCs’ certificates.
The latest of these certificates, according to him, is the OBC Compliance Certificate for the 22 teaching hospitals upgrade and the FBC Compliance Certificate for the Automated Ticketing System for the Nigeria Railway Commission.
Speaking on the objectives of the conference, he said it sought to identify as well as improve the bankability of selected PPP projects in Nigeria with a view to accessing project funding from the African Export-Import Bank.
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Works, Adamu Aliero, said the Senate would amend the ICRC Act to attract private sector’s investment.
He said, “At the Senate, we believe that the PPP is the only way to fast-track infrastructural development in Nigeria. We are committed to this and we are ready to amend the ICRC Act, we will come up with laws that will attract the private sector’s investment, laws that will promote security across the country so that we can attract both the local and private investors.
“The 2020 budget has over 500 road projects to a tune of about N4tn to be funded by the Federal Government, but the fund available is not more than N147bn. In this situation, we have no option but to adopt the PPP arrangements.
“The National Assembly will continue to partner all agencies to ensure that the PPP succeed in Nigeria.”
The Director, Infrastructure, Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Isah Halidu, said the amount needed to address the infrastructure deficit in the country could not be provided by the government alone.
He said, “We often say that funds are flying around the world, and if we must attract these funds we must have the right environment. The government will stand with the National Assembly to make sure the PPP succeeds in Nigeria.”
The Executive Director, Strategy and Research, Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Dr Lateef Shittu, described the PPP as a veritable platform for addressing the huge infrastructure development deficit in the country.
He said 20 states had passed the Public Private Partnership law and set up offices, adding that the NGF was encouraging the other 16 states to also pass the the PPP bill into law.
Shittu said the NGF would continue to drive the campaign until all the states identify with the PPP initiative as a solution to infrastructure development.
By Ifeanyi Onuba,
The Punch