FG's PPP option can bridge infrastructure deficit – Minister

Minister of State, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, has said that government’s Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement is a reliable option for bridging Nigeria’s infrastructure deficit.

Mrs Ahmed stated this in her remarks at the opening of a Capacity Building Training on Public Private Partnership (PPP) Management in the Public Sector organised for Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), by her ministry, in collaboration with the Institute for Public Private Partnership in Abuja.

She explained that the training was organised to enhance Nigeria’s national PPP management capability, which was in line with the priority of the present administration towards building a competitive economy by improving the business environment for increased private sector investment in infrastructure development.

“The gaps in PPP management capabilities in federal MDAs have been identified as major constraints to optimising PPP investments. The skill sets and readiness to manage investments that may come in the form of PPP initiatives are generally inadequate and sometimes non-existent” She said.

The minister explained that Nigeria’s Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan set out to raise the country’s stock from the current 20 to 25 per cent of GDP in 2014 to at least 70 per cent by 2043.

She said the plant also estimated a huge funding requirement of over $166 billion during the period from 2014 to 2018.