Maduka Nweke
The Federal Government has said that participation of the private sector in the provision of infrastructure will go a long way in the development of economy. This resulted in the call to the sector by government to see existing infrastructure deficit in Nigeria as an opportunity to partner on a win-win basis in the social infrastructure space.
Speaking recently in a public event in Lagos, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, charged stakeholders in the built industry to position themselves towards achieving positive experiences for the sector in spite of current inclement market realities.
Accordingly him, it is believed that this is possible through reinvestment in human development and technology as a total solution.
It will be recalled that over the years, government has been able to document the funding requirements to close the infrastructure gap in specific sectors like the $48 billion for power, $36 billion for transportation, $20 billion for Agriculture and Water.
However, it is important that government works closely with key stakeholders to identify and agree on priorities areas of infrastructure and real estate developments and proffer effective solutions based on roles and responsibilities of stakeholders.
Making the call at the 7th edition of the Nigerian Facilities Management roundtable 2018 held in Lagos, In a presentation on; “Enabling positive experience by using the PPP model for the provision and management of public infrastructure and quality assets”, the Acting Director General of Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Chidi Izuwah said the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model is critical globally as both a funding and operational mechanism for public infrastructure.
According to him, the Federal Government is mobilising relevant agencies and parastatals to make available incentives, such as land use reforms, subsidies, building materials, cost reduction programs, and tax exempt status that will ensure increased housing delivery in the appropriate price bracket.
“The Federal Government supports PPPs, and instituted the ICRC to develop and enforces guidelines, policies, and procurement processes for PPP at all government levels. FM integrated with PPP is a growing percentage of all PPPs, for the maintenance and operation of infrastructure and buildings such as offices, hospitals, schools”
He said ICRC will support FM projects and seeks to expand its application nationwide emphasising that FM PPP opportunities in Nigeria include; roads, public offices, urban infrastructure–streetlights, public toilets, transport terminals, waste transfer and management systems, schools, hospitals, airports, marine infrastructure and power transmission infrastructure.
Speaking on ”Enabling Positive Experiences in a Post-Recession Real Estate Market”, the Group Managing Director of Alpha Mead Group, Femi Akintunde, an engineer, noted that the real estate market was one of the worst hit sectors during the 15-month period of Nigeria’s economic recession. The lull which defined the market, he said was most prominent in the residential segment as widening vacancy rates, increasing cases of rent and service charge defaults and slowdown in construction activities characterized the sub-sector.
The Nigerian FM Roundtable is an annual Business-to-Business, high-calibre event initiated in 2012 by Alpha Mead Facilities, in commemoration of the World Facilities Management Day; and has played host to about a thousand top executives from the public and private sectors in Nigeria and Ghana.
The event was attended by Nigeria international health expert, Prof. Babatunde Green, a specialist in manufacturing; Tokunbo Talabi, the group head, real estate of Eco-Bank; Kunle Osilaja, retail manager; Mrs. Bola Shobanjo, Chief Executive Officer of Fine and Country West Africa; Udo Okonjo and Chief Executive Officer, International Real Estate Partners (IREP), Erejuwa Gbadebo among others.