LCCI lauds CBN-led Infrastructure Dev’t Coy

The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has applauded the Federal Government for the approval to establish a CBN-led Infrastructure Development Company, which will leverage local and international funds for rebuilding of critical infrastructure across the country.

Recall that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) at its last seating also commended the Federal Government for the approval to establish a CBN-led Infrastructure Development Company.

The MPC noted that the entity, which will be wholly focused on Nigeria and Nigerians alone will be co-owned by the CBN, the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) and the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), but exclusively managed by an Independent Infrastructure Fund Manager (IIFM) that will mobilize local and foreign capital to support the Federal Government in building the transport infrastructure required to move agriculture and other products to processors, raw materials to factories, and finished goods to markets.

The sum of N15 trillion is projected over 5 years for the initial run. The Committee noted with satisfaction the CBN’s immediate work on the updates and timelines for the establishment of this much-needed entity

Infrastructure deficit according to the DG of LCCI, Dr Muda Yusuf is perhaps the biggest problem of Nigeria, as such, no efforts or resources will be too much to commit to it.

“If the CBN has more room to boost investment in infrastructure, why not. We should welcome it. In fact, infrastructure challenges is one of the reasons the intervention funds have not been able to make the desired impact on the economy,”

“If we fix Infrastructure, a lot of things will fall into place. Infrastructure master plan indicates that we need to commit $100 billion annually for the three decades before the deficit in infrastructure can be fixed. This shows the magnitude of the problem,”

He however noted that the beauty of this is the involvement of the private sector. “We are likely to see greater level of efficiency and cost effectiveness both in the execution and management of the infrastructure.”