Over 90 PPP Projects Worth N9trn Approved Under Buhari’s Administration —ICRC DG

…Urges Tinubu To Deploy PPP To Boost Nigeria’s Infrastructure

A total of 94 projects under the Public Private Partnership agreement were granted approval under the eight year administration of former President Muhammadu, the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission has said.

The ICRC Director -General, Michael Ohiani, said this in a congratulatory message to President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima.

Tinubu and Shettima, were inaugurated as the 7th democratically elected President and Vice President respectively, on Monday in Abuja.

The ICRC DG said their victory at the polls demonstrates their determination to take Nigeria to greater heights; which is a victory for democracy, for Nigeria and for the continuation of infrastructure development in Nigeria.

He said going by Tinubu’s antecedents as governor of Lagos State, he revolutionised the infrastructure stock in the state; conceptualised the Lekki Free Trade Zone which now showcases the Lekki Deep Sea Port, the Dangote Refinery and many other world-class infrastructure facilities.

He expressed confidence that the infrastructure development fortunes of Nigeria will be further transformed in his administration.

In view of the need to upscale the national infrastructure stock and bridge the wide gap in the midst of dwindling government revenue, Ohiani said Public Private Partnerships (PPP) have become the globally tested and accepted way to go.

According to him, from the inception of ICRC in 2010 to date, following its regulatory guidance in line with extant rules and subsequent issuance of Full Business Case (FBC) compliance certificates, a total of 103 PPP projects have been approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

These projects, he stated will bring in private capital investment of almost N11trn (approximately $24bn).

Out of the 103 projects, the ICRC Boss said 94 approvals worth almost N9trn (about $19.5bn) were granted in the last 8 years under the administration of Buhari.

He said, “In line with the ICRC Act, 2005; the Commission published in 2022 a list of 53 eligible PPP projects worth $23bn in the pipelines of projects, sequel to their certification as both viable and bankable to be undertaken using PPPs.

“In addition, the Commission has issued Outline Business Case (OBC) compliance certificates for 174 projects to proceed for procurement. Many of these projects are at different stages of procurement. These projects cut across various sectors including but not limited to transportation, health, education, aviation, agriculture, water.

“Some of the notable projects approved in the last eight years include the development of Hydroelectric power from existing Small and Medium dams across the Country at Bakolori Dam (Zamfara State), Ikere Gorge Dam (Oyo state), Omi – Kampe Dam (Kogi state) and Zobe Dam and Jibiya Dams (Katsina State).

“These are valued at over N1.5bn. Others include the Operation and Management Concession of the 700 MW Zungeru Hydroelectric Power Plant at N552bn; the 360 MW Gurara 2 Multipurpose Dam Project at N516.6bn; the 40 MW Kashimbila HydroPower Dam at (HPP) Project at N7.68bn.”

In the Health sector, he said the Warehouse-in-a-box projects were approved for Abuja and Lagos among others, adding that in the Agriculture sector, FEC approved the Concession and Leasing of 19 Grain Storage Facilities at N15.1bn.

In the Transportation sector, the following were approved the Abuja-Baro-Itakpe-AjaokutaWarri Railway Line (269.12km) with branch and extension lines to Jakura-Lokoja (41km) and Agbarho-Warri (5km) at N3.2bn; Design, Development, Deployment and Management of a Secure Automated Fare Collection (AFC) Solution for the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) Rail Network at N900m; Development of Port Harcourt Railway Industrial Park, Rivers State equipped with rolling stock assembly, Oil and Gas materials supply Industrial Park, Textile Industrial Park as well as Light Industry Park for Fast Moving Commodities and Goods at N133bn; Development of Bonny Deep Sea Port at N253bn; Ibom Deep Sea Port Project in Akwa Ibom State. N927.5bn; Onitsha River Port project at N3.9bn; and the Development of Deep-Sea Port in Badagry, Lagos at N1.28trn.

There is also the Construction and Maintenance of 12 corridors under a highway development and management initiative (HDMI) as follows: Route 1: Benin- Asaba 125 km road, Route 2: Abuja – lokoja 195km road, Route 4: Onitsha – Owerri – Aba 161.2 km road, Route 5: Shagamu – Benin 258km road, Route 6: Abuja-Keffi-Akwanga 175.9km road, Route 7A: Kano – Shuari 100km road, Route 9: Enugu – Port Harcourt 200km road, Route 11: Lagos – Ota – Abeokuta 80km road and Route 12: Lagos – Badagry – Seme Border 79km road. All the routes will be constructed at a total cost of NGN1.57 Trillion). Total – 1,374km road. Concession Period: 25 – 27 years.

In the Aviation sector, the ICRC Boss said there is the Development of a Maintenance, Repairs and Overhaul (MRO) Facility at N690m, Abuja and Kano International Airport Terminal N47.6bn.

“The above demonstrate the effectiveness of PPPs in contributing private sector investment to infrastructure development, thereby complementing government’s efforts in bridging the gap.

“We are convinced that under your administration, PPPs will be deployed more to enable the country improve our infrastructure situation, with many more projects coming on stream.

“The Commission is committed to playing its role in the necessary pre and post contract regulatory guidance at the federal level, as well as work with the sub-national bodies to lift our country’s infrastructure to globally accepted levels,” he added.