NIGERIA – The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is set to form a US$39.4 billion infrastructure development company which will focus on investment in the country’s critical infrastructure.
This is after the apex financial institution secured the Federal Government’s approval to set up the company in collaboration with the Sovereign Wealth Fund and the African Finance Corporation.
The venture, which is expected to leverage local and international funds, is projected to cover an initial 5-year period, according to a report by Nairametrics.
This entity, according to a disclosure by CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, will be co-owned by the CBN, African Finance Corporation (AFC), and the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA).
Emefiele further disclosed that the entity will be exclusively managed by an Independent Infrastructure Fund Manager (IIFM) that will mobilize local and foreign capital necessary to fund its infrastructure projects.
The company will thus play a critical role in supporting the Federal Government develop the transport infrastructure required to move agriculture and other products to processors, raw materials to factories, and finished goods to market.
From poor port infrastructure, dilapidated transport networks, epileptic power supply, huge housing deficit, Nigeria’s infrastructure gap cannot be overemphasized.
Experts have pointed out that the poor state of infrastructure and the huge infrastructure deficit seriously puts at risk, the current administration’s plans to industrialize the country.
They also jeopardize President’s Buhari’s ambition to establish a vibrant agricultural sector to encourage economic growth.
Recently, the Minister of Finance stated Nigeria needs an estimated N36 trillion annually for the next 30 years to solve Nigeria’s infrastructure problem.
This initiative will thus help fix the nation’s dilapidated road network and railway lines and help reverse to decades of decay that has stunted economic growth and made it difficult to move agricultural products from the rural areas or farms to processing plants and finished goods to the markets.
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