By Obinna Nwachukwu

Director – General of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) Joe Michael Ohiani has restated federal government of Nigeria’s commitment to Public private partnership ( PPP) as a means of funding the country’s infrastructure projects and closing the gap in infrastructure development

Ohiani stated this on Friday in his goodwill message to His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari (GCFR) and the good people of Nigeria on the historic occasion of the nation’s 62nd Independence Day Celebration

In the message personally signed by him, Ohiani said the federal government through the ICRC is fully committed to Public Private Partnership (PPP) methodology as a preferred procurement model for achieving Nigeria’s inclusive growth and developmental objectives.

Accirding to the DG, it is gratifying to note that Buhari’s consistent and firm support for PPPs has led to remarkable progress in key infrastructure projects like the Lekki Deep Sea Port which he said is at over 98% completion, the Airport Modernisation Project, the Nigeria Air project whose preferred bidders were recently procured as well as the Highway Development and Management Initiative (HDMI) Project which targets the development of 12 road corridors across the 6 geo-political zones.

” We established in 2019, a PPP Capacity Building arm known as the Nigeria Institute of Infrastructure and Public Private Partnership (NII3P), to focus on PPP trainings for MDAs some of which include the Basic, Intermediate and Advanced PPP Courses. Others include short Infrastructure Development Courses, the APMG – CP3P (Examination) course, and the Master of Business Administration (MBA) in PPP; in collaboration with the Malaysian University of Science and Technology.
Mindful of the importance of the economy of states, the ICRC is also supporting states through peer review mechanisms to ensure they also undertake their PPP projects in line with best practices”

The Commission he further stated is currently finalizing to gazette a Pipeline of 53 viable PPP projects that can be executed within the short, medium and long term.

The projects he said are worth over $23 billion and will generate thousands of employment while creating a chain reaction within the value chain.

“As Nigeria celebrates its 62nd Independence Anniversary, the Commission urges all Nigerians to support the Federal Government and indeed states in their quest to further bridge the Infrastructure gap.
God Bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria”, the DG said