By Aisha Cole & Taiye Edeni
Abuja – The Managing Director, Infrastructure Bank PLC, Mr Adekunle Abdulrazaq, has said that private participation is essential for upsurge investments in transportation infrastructure.
Abdulrazaq stated this at a two-day National Summit on the Establishment, Management and Operations of Trucks Transit Parks in Nigeria in Abuja on Tuesday.
According to him, there is enormous gap between available infrastructure and the need of the population cannot be bridged by public resources alone.
“There is obvious case of under-optimisation of the transportation sector, wherein about 90 per cent of investments in the nation’s transport infrastructure currently rest on public investments.
“The Infrastructure Bank Plc has painstakingly and deliberately crafted a niche market, within which it is the leading provider of project finance solutions much needed in transportation infrastructure projects.
“We have acquired and developed the requisite expertise and technical capacity to ensure we are able to deliver on our mandate, without compromise, ‘’ Abdulrazaq said.
He said that his organisation was ready to support the development and implementation of any viable infrastructure project whenever the need arises in the country.
The banker said that transportation sector was a critical component of the nation’s economy due to the fact that other economic sectors rested on the ability to efficiently move goods and persons within the country.
He said that high-density transport infrastructure and highly-connected networks were associated with high level economic development.
Abdulrazaq said that efficient transportation provided for both economic and social opportunities which had multiplier effects such as better accessibility to markets, employment opportunities and attracting additional investments.
He said there was need for adequate transportation to reduce economic costs
Abdulrazaq said there was need for a holistic plan and policy framework for the transportation sector which was encapsulated in the National Transportation Policy which had been under-developed for some time.
He said the policy was cohesive and should be duly harmonised, citing the National Roads Fund and the Federal Roads Authority Bills.
The banker said that the bills were presently in draft forms to ensure consistency.
He said the policy document should clearly delineate institutional roles and responsibilities among government parastatals, regulators, industry players and stakeholders to ensure transparency and accountability. (NAN)