By Omodele Adigun
Out of over 12,000 abandoned projects, worth more than $102 billion, scattered across the country, the Infrastructure Corporation of Nigeria (InfraCorp), a dedicated special purpose vehicle promoted by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) and the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) says it would cherry pick commercially viable ones among the lots for execution.
Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, who dropped the hint at the weekend in Lagos during the InfraCorp Term Sheet Signing with Independent Asset Managers, said in collaboration with the asset managers, InfraCorp would pick up public and private infrastructure considered commercially viable for execution with its N15 trillion capitalisation.
Emefiele, who doubles as InfraCorp Chairman, stated: “Among projects selected are the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway; Abuja-Kaduna and Kano, as well as Second Niger Bridge. Of course, the Second Niger Bridge has got to completion point. But there are still some ancillary funds to complete it. There are other infrastructure, other roads or other kinds of infrastructure projects that are as long as they are commercially viable, we will be looking at them. We seize this opportunity to call all, not only the government, because , primarily at least, to make sure that government is able to fund its infrastructure without necessarily going through appropriation. With this smart and alternative financing arrangement that we have, it should be possible for the government to finance its infrastructure projects that we consider commercially viable.
The asset manager will work with the various projects’ owners or assets’ owners to ensure to ensure that we do pick the right projects that will help this country develop, create jobs and of course grow our GDP”.
Recently, Mr Bismark Rewane, the Managing Director/CEO of Financial Derivatives Company, had urged the Federal Government to mobilise fund to finish all uncompleted capital projects worth $102billion scattered across the country.