FG Attracts N1.34trn Private Sector Investment On 12 Federal High Ways

The Federal Government has attracted N1.34trn from private investors into 12 federal highways, according to the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing.

The development was disclosed in a document released by the ministry and signed by the Director of Press and Publicity, Boade Akinola.

The ministry also disclosed that it had received the Outline Business Case Certificate of Compliance fir the projects from the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission.

The certificate would permit the commencement of the procurement process for the concession of the 12 federal highways under the Highway Development and Management Initiative.

The document classified the concession process into value-added concession and unbundled assets approvals.

The value-added concession provides that road pavement and right-of-way will be on concession for development and management by the concessionaire.

For the second classification, the unbundled assets approvals initiative, the approvals are issued for individual assets on the right-of-way on a build, operate and or maintain basis.

The Ministry said the move would require the re-introduction of tollgates for concessionaires to get back their investments.

But the ministry argued that the toll was not the sole essence of the concession to the investors.

The ministry explained that the benefits which include the provision over 250,000 direct and indirect jobs and enabling businesses far outweigh the toll cost.

The ministry said, “Both approaches aim to provide adequate highway services through the development of revenue-generating assets along the Highway.

“This is key to maintaining the functionality of the highway as well as engaging and generating wealth for indigenous small and medium enterprises.

“The main objective of the initiative is to attract expertise and sustainable investment/funding in the development of road infrastructure and to maximise the use of assets along the Right of Way and develop other highway infrastructure.

“It’s not really about revenue, it’s about the expected injection into the economy. The estimated private sector investment required for the development and maintenance of the 12 routes is N1.34trn and the impact such investment will have on the economy cannot be overstated.”

It said a minimum 50,000 direct jobs and over 200,000 indirect jobs are envisaged to be created spanning construction works, installations, steel fabrication, security, hospitality, vehicle repairs, waste management and administrative work as the value chain along the highway economy is activated.