Nigeria Needs $125bn To Build Infrastructure – Minister

The Federal Government needs to spend at least $125bn within the next five years under the Interim National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan to transform the country’s abysmally poor infrastructure.

shamsuddeen_usmanThe Minister of National Planning and Deputy Chairman, National Planning Commission, Dr. Shamsuddeen Usman, who delivered a lecture at the 41st Annual General Meeting of the Manufacturers’ Association of Nigeria in Lagos on Thursday, said the government must spent at least $25bn annually for the next five years in order to achieve accelerated and integrated infrastructure development in the country.

He said the Federal Executive Council approved the framework for the development of the NIIMP (2014 -2043) on November 21, 2012, adding that the interim NIIMP was delivered on May 24, 2013 for a five-year operational plan.The final NIIMP, according to the minister, will be delivered on August 14, 2013.

Usman said if the country adopted an accelerated model like China and Vietnam, $25bn would be required per annum for the next five years, adding that this would have faster socio-economic impact.

If the linear model is adopted like India and Qatar, according to him, $95bn will be required per annum for the next five years.

In any case, the national planning minister said none of the models could be solely financed through government budget, and pointed out that strong private sector participation would be required to push it through.

In view of this, he said the Federal Government was already marketing the NIIMP to international investors with the hope of attracting more Foreign Direct Investments into the nation’s infrastructure sector.

Usman said, “Infrastructure is a key driver of economic growth and development, and an enabler of competitiveness. The infrastructure stock is, however, inadequate for the desired development, and this is a constraint to socio-economic development in Nigeria. NIIMP will address challenges in the infrastructure sector. But the fund required cannot be solely funded through the budget; Public-Private Partnership is required.