Plateau opts for PPP to rebuild Jos market

Fourteen years after the fire disaster that gutted the Jos Terminus Market, the Plateau State government has approved Public Private Partnership (PPP) to reconstruct the market reputed as North-central’s largest commercial centre. The plan to rebuild the structure along Murtala Mohammed Way in the commercial area of the state capital will come into effect by the end of this year, according to Ezekiel Gomos, a financial consultant, who is also the chairman of the project implementation unit.
 He told newsmen at the weekend that a Transaction Adviser was selected by the implementation unit, to take the process further by way of advising the implementation of the PPP, including selecting the private partner, guide the drawing up of the technical and financial proposal, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the partners, the scope of the project, finances and completion period.
 The transaction advising firm, which emerged after a bid involving 12 firms in all, will be made public soon, according to Gomos, who said the firm will have till about the end of the year to submit the proposed PPP arrangement.
 He said the state decided on the PPP as an option because of dwindling revenue in the face of rising financial commitment, stressing that the alternative route was taken in line with the guidelines of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC).