NAN-HE- 16
Plan
By Cecilia Ologunagba
Abuja, March 6, 2017 (NAN) The Federal Ministry of Budget and National Planning says it is planning to conduct reality check on the National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan (NIIMP 2014 – 2043) to accelerate infrastructure development.
An official of the ministry who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on condition of anonymity on Monday in Abuja said a unit had started working on NIIMP.
The official said that that Infrastructure Delivery Coordinating Unit (IDCU) had included a roadmap to conduct a reality check on the NIIMP in its workplan for 2017.
“The NIIMP was prepared in 2012 /2013 and approved by Federal Executive Council in 2014 and a lot of things have changed since then.
“The implementation of the plan will cost N3.05 trillion dollars as at that time.
“So, we decided to review the plan because some of the economic indicators, such as exchange rate, crude oil price, inflation among others have changed.
“The changes will affect the implementation of the plan if not reviewed, so we have to review it to reflect the current reality.
“It will also help the ministry to include the current administration projects in the plan.’’
According to him, the ministry plans to come up with the review of the NIIMP by the 2nd quarter of the year.
He said the commitment of the Federal Government in addressing the problem of huge infrastructure gap in all the sectors of the Nigerian economy necessitated the development of the NIIMP.
The official said that the relevant stakeholders would work with the ministry to conduct a reality check on it since the implementation cost was no longer feasible.
“Also, the First Medium term Operational/Investment plans from 2017 to 2020 for implementation of the long term Plan [NIIMP] is already being articulated.
“It will contain priority infrastructure projects between 2017 and 2020
“This plan will serve as investment framework for private investors interested in investing in infrastructure in the country because government cannot fund infrastructure alone,’’ the official said.
The official said that in line with the international practices, the ministry established IDCU unit to serve as a specialised central unit to coordinate the delivery of infrastructure priorities and initiatives in the country.
He said that it was established to carry out project packaging and support; Master plan monitoring and evaluation; Capability building; Communication and marketing and Project financing.
The official, however, said that major achievement of the unit in 2016 was the hosting of two-day Workshop.
He said that the workshop was on packaging of PPP projects in four key sectors of Education, Health, Power and Agriculture in collaboration with Infrastructure PPP Summit Group.
“The unit hosted One-day capacity building Workshop for 14 infrastructure-heavy Ministries Departments and Agencies on Private Public Partnership in collaboration with the Infrastructure Bank Plc.
“It also organised validation Workshop for all relevant Stakeholders on NIIMP Governance framework.
“It has continued to engage the organised private sector and key operators/practitioners in the infrastructure sub sector towards achieving effective implementation of NIIMP.’’
In addition, he said that the unit had collaborated with private sector such as Akintola Williams Deloitte Inc, the Infrastructure Bank Plc and the Infrastructure PPP Summit Group to achieve its mandate.
NAN reports that the NIIMP beginning from 2014 to 2043 focuses on key areas of infrastructure including energy, housing, agriculture, ICT, roads, and security.
The NIIMP is a government blue print for building world class infrastructure required to grow the economy, enhance quality of life of the citizenry, create jobs and improve Nigeria’s global competitiveness. (NAN)
CIA/Morayo Omolade
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