FG approves National Policy on Public Private Partnership to Address Infrastructure Deficits

 

Vice-President Namadi Sambo announced the approval while declaring open the 4th African Public Private Partnership Conference in Abuja on Thursday. 

He said the policy was meant to complement the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission Act of 2005 and to provide the legislative, regulatory and institutional framework for PPPs to thrive. According to him, the policy will also help boost investors’ confidence in the Nigerian economy. He said the Federal Government was committed to promoting PPP as a viable business model, adding that government’s Transformation Agenda placed a high premium on PPP for the rapid modernisation and expansion of the country’s infrastructure.

“Our goal has consistently been to work with the private sector to close the capital investment and financing gaps that continue to encumber our determined efforts to meet the growing infrastructure needs of our people.

“Due to its viability, we are also focused on applying the Public-Private-Partnership approach to developing other vital sectors of the economy. 

“We are confident that through this measure, we will eliminate bureaucratic bottlenecks and reduce direct government involvement in management activities. 

“Overall, we are creating an enabling environment for the operation of an efficient and effective private sector economy.”

He noted that the annual African PPP Conference had evolved into a foremost platform for governments to address the continent’s infrastructure deficit and showcase Africa’s investment potential to the outside world. 

Sambo expressed optimism that the conference would address the challenges of infrastructure development on the continent. 

“I am hopeful this important conference will enable us continue our conversation on the challenges of infrastructure development on the continent and seek viable solutions to our common development problems. 

“I also expect that the role of PPP as an intervention strategy will feature prominently in your avid exchange of views.

 “The presence here, today, of the representatives of various governments, not just from Africa but around the world - the African Development Bank; World Bank and other notable institutions from a wide business spectrum - is already a clear pointer to the high quality outcomes that would emerge from this meeting.”

The vice-president, who described the PPP as a genuine mechanism for up-scaling the stock of infrastructure on the African continent, thanked the organisers of the event for choosing Abuja as venue for the conference. 

In his remark, Chief Ernest Shonekan, the Chairman of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), described the conference as a gathering of key decision-makers, investors, advisers, financiers and consultants, who were seeking PPP opportunities in Nigeria.