By Perpetua Onuegbu
Abuja – The Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, says the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) will facilitate funding of regional roads for the development of the West African Region.
Fashola made this known during a meeting with the representatives of the commission led by its Director-General, Mr Chidi Izuwah, in Abuja.
In a statement by Mr Henry David, Senior Information Officer in the ministry, on Tuesday, the minister said the initiative was for the development of the West African regional transport and logistics infrastructure.
The minister said the collaboration would lead to growth and prosperity for the region and establish a high-level partnership of mutual benefit.
Fashola was optimistic that the ICRC would come up with a think-tank for the implementation of resilient road infrastructure, funding and financing of roads.
He said it would also create opportunities to expand the West African Regional roads, rail corridor programme and trade consultative discussions to boost the impact of transport infrastructure and enhance project delivery in rural roads.
“There is improved recognition for Ease of Doing Business in Nigeria as evidenced by the latest 2019 global ranking by the World Bank that ranked Nigeria as one of the 10 most improved countries on Ease of Doing Business.
“Government is determined to continually improve on the performance to encourage enterprise and productivity.
“Meanwhile, government is deploying several incentives to encourage private sector participation in infrastructure development and one of them is Tax Credit initiative.
“This initiative is already yielding positive impact in the construction of the Bonny Bridge by Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), the Apapa Oworonsoki road in Lagos and Kabba road in Kogi State by Dangote Group of Companies,’’ he said.
Fashola reiterated government’s commitment to entrench Public Private Participation (PPP) for speedy development of the nation’s infrastructure.
The minister commended the ICRC boss for his efforts toward increasing the infrastructure stock of the country through PPP.
He urged indigenous investors to optimise their participation.
