MONDAYBUSINESS FG launches contract disclosure framework
Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) contracts will no longer be shrouded in secrecy as the Federal Government has launched a framework to ensure that the general public has access to PPP contract information.
The PPP Disclosure Framework is online-based and hosted on the ICRC web portal sponsored to be accessed by the general public.
The project was executed by the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) in partnership with the World Bank after consultations from the Ministries, Departments and Agencies, the PPP financiers, the concessionaires and civil society organisations.
Speaking at the public launch, at the weekend, the Vice President of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, said the Federal Government plans to use Public Private Partnership (PPP) as a means to provide basic infrastructure to the people.
Represented by the Minister of State, Power, Works and Housing, Mr Suleiman Hassan, the vice president said the PPP Disclosure web portal encourages proactive disclosure of contract agreements, the technical specifications and other information between the government and its contractors on PPP projects.
He explained that the portal will make available to citizens and relevant stakeholders, information such as project title, type, government agency responsible, name of private concessionaire, contract sum, and regular progress report on the projects.
On the disclosure portal, he urged ministries department and agencies of the Federal Government to proactively release and upload all information regarding the PPP contracts they have entered into.
Osinbajo said the provision of high quality infrastructure remains a huge stumbling block to the country’s economic growth hence the need to seek private sector intervention.
“Infrastructure is very vital in the lives of our people. It will not only serve as a catalyst for economic growth but would also accelerate employment generation and alleviate poverty. This administration is committed to exploring and using any scheme necessary especially PPPs to help achieve the level of infrastructure development needed in the country,” he said.
Also speaking at the occasion, the acting DirectorGeneral, Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Mr Chide Izuwah, said the country currently had 51 PPP contracts valued at about 3.2 trillion dollars.
He said the figure represents the total private capital investment stake in the provision of public infrastructure adding the ICRC also has 77 PPP bankable projects in various stages of development. The chairman of Rendeavour, Africa’s largest urban land developer, Mr. Frank Mosier, has said that Nigeria is an investment destination that no serious African investor can ignore.
He spoke at the NigeriaUS Business and Investment Forum in New York attended by senior government officials along with Nigerian private sector and American investors to discuss ease of doing business and foreign investment.
Rendeavour is currently investing over $250 million on infrastructure in Jigna, a mixed-use development in Abuja with thousands of homes, offices and shops, as well as schools and medical facilities.
“Building 20-year real estate and infrastructure investment like Jigna in Abuja or Lekki City in Lagos naturally has its challenges, but with the support of government, we can ensure that all due process is followed to avoid frustration of foreign investors,” Mosier said.
According to him, Jigna is expected to catalyse an estimated $1 billion of additional investment in Abuja, and create tens of thousands of jobs. a