The
African Development Bank (AfDB) on Tuesday pledged to work with
multilateral institutions and private sector operators to assist Nigeria
bridge the infrastructure gap in the country.
Nigeria’s cumulative infrastructure financing needs estimated at
about $100 billion annually are projected to reach $3 trillion by 2044.
The Senior Director, AfDB Nigeria, Ebrima Faal, said during the
Africa Investment Forum (AIF) Roadshow in Abuja the bank would help the
country develop investment-ready projects for investors, fund managers
and others.
The roadshow is a fore-runner to the Africa Investment Forum the bank
is planning for November 7 to 9 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The AIF is an investment market place to showcase key projects
currently under development and assess how those projects would be
financed, operated and delivered successfully to maximise efficiency and
project success.
Mr Faal said the forum has been designed to meet the needs of African
stakeholders looking to capitalise on the increasing potential of
multi-stakeholder partners and the growing investment appetite in Africa
by investors.
Mr Faal said the idea for the investment forum was informed by the
reality that government alone cannot finance the infrastructure in the
country.
He said the widening infrastructure gap was limiting the country’s effort to attain sustainable development.
The director said apart from the development of effective public
private partnerships, the AfDB was committed to providing new innovative
financing programmes, instruments and partnerships for the country.
Besides, he said the AfDB plans to assist Nigeria in putting together
a pipeline of bankable projects ahead of the Africa Investment Forum to
facilitate the financing and construction of critical infrastructure in
the continent.
“Despite impressive growth rates in most part of the continent,
Africa’s infrastructure needs remain formidable, with annual financing
gap of between $130 and $107 billion annually.
“This is all happening at a time when public sector finances are extremely under pressure.
“There is therefore a critical need to change the current funding
mix and create partnerships to finance infrastructure and other projects
in Africa,” Mr Faal said.
Senior Director at the AfDB in charge of the African Investment
Forum, Stella Kilonzo, said the bank aims to use the forum to de-risk
investments in Africa.
Ms Kilonzo said that at the moment, Nigeria and Africa at large were
struggling to attract significant capital due to poor preparation and
packaging of project proposals, limited availability of tools for credit
enhancement and risk coverage among others.
She said in Nigeria, AfDB seeks to fast track the sustainable
development goals through the development of bankable projects in the
agricultural, energy and infrastructure sector, among others.
In his remarks, the Co-ordinator, Economic Recovery and Growth Plan
(ERGP), Folarin Alayande, said the federal government identified key
priority projects that would spur sustainable growth in the country.
To deliver fast results on mobilising private investments and job
creation, he said the country’s investment focus was in the areas of
agriculture and transportation, manufacturing and processing, power and
gas supply.
To this end, he said Nigeria was seeking about $22.5 billion of
investment commitments by year 2020 covering 164 projects, spreading
over six geo-political zones.