President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the establishment of a company, Infra-Co, to tackle the nation’s infrastructure deficit.
Laolu Akande, the Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Publicity, disclosed this in a statement on Friday, titled, “President Buhari approves formation of trillion naira company to address infrastructure deficit.”
Akande stated that the company would take off with an initial seed capital of N1trillion which will be provided by the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority and the Africa Finance Corporation.
The Vice-President, Yemi Osinbajo, has been directed by Buhari to chair a Steering Committee tasked with setting up the company.
The statement read, “President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the establishment of a Public-Private Partnership styled Infrastructure company named Infra-Co with an initial seed capital of N1trillion.
“It is envisaged that, over time, the entity will grow to N15trillion in assets and capital.
“Infra-Co will be one of the premier infrastructure finance entities in Africa and will be wholly dedicated to Nigeria’s infrastructure development. The entity has been developed with concept designs from the National Economic Council and nd the Central Bank of Nigeria.
“The President had asked Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, to chair a Steering Committee tasked with setting up the company.
“The initial seed capital for the entity will come from the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority, NSIA, and the Africa Finance Corporation.
“The board of Infra-Co will be chaired by the Central Bank Governor and include the Managing Director of the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority, President of the Africa Finance Corporation, as well as representatives of the Nigerian Governors Forum, and the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning. The board will also have three independent directors from the private sector.”
To address Nigeria’s infrastructure deficit, Akande said the present administration would continue to explore innovative options, including through financing initiatives such as the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund designed to cater for the 2nd Niger Bridge, the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Expressway and other projects.
“Infra-Co will finance public asset development, rehabilitation and reconstruction as well as invest in cutting edge infrastructure projects for roads, rail, power and other key sectors,” he added.