FG, World Bank to mobilise capital market financing, others for infrastructure development

The Federal Government has initiated discussions with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, to explore capital market financing and other funding options within Nigeria to drive infrastructure development through Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs).

Jobson Ewalefoh, Director General of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), stated this in a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja by Ifeanyi Nwoko, the Acting Head of Media and Publicity.

Ewalefoh said that the visit of the team was an important one that could redefine the space of infrastructure development in Nigeria.

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This was the focus of a meeting between the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) and the World Bank Team, who were on a fact- finding mission on how to develop and unlock the capital market in Nigeria.

He said that alternative finance options like unlocking the capital market to fund PPPs were at the heart of his innovative financing policy agenda.

Speaking further after the technical meeting, Ewalefoh said that funding was at the core of infrastructure development. Hence, it would be a milestone to unlock the capital market.

“The World Bank and IFC were here to see what we can do in unlocking the potentials of the capital market in funding infrastructure development.

“We deliberated on the opportunities, the challenges and the importance of having access to the huge funds available in the capital market to fund infrastructure.

“In my deliberation, I focused more on the potential for investors to invest in Nigeria based on the viability and bankability of projects in Nigeria.

“At the end of the day, we agreed that viability is not a problem but there are other risks that investors were weary of and also the lack of information about the opportunities that abound in Nigeria as a key investment destination”, he said.

He, however, urged the global bank to do more in supporting Nigeria’s Government Agencies with funds and capacity development to come up with more eligible pipelines of projects.

He said that the ICRC was going to do more to communicate the investment potential of Nigeria, adding that there was a nexus between the investment opportunities in Nigeria and the role the capital market can play in tapping into those potentials.

He stressed that in the area of PPP processes, the Commission had activated the charge by President Bola Tinubu and haD streamlined its processes to ensure accelerated delivery of PPP infrastructure projects.

Patricia Canziani, the leader of the World Bank delegation, said the essence of the meeting was to gather information that would enable the bank to introduce its Joint Capital Markets Programme (J-CAP) in Nigeria.

“The purpose of our visit is to introduce the J-CAP programme which we have introduced to 20 countries Worldwide and the purpose of the programme is to work together with the stakeholders in Nigeria and identify ways to support the development and roles of the capital market in Nigeria”.

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“The Capital Market holds many opportunities for funding PPP. The Nigerian Capital Market already has different products, but we can support the development of newer products in the country,” she said.

She commended the ICRC for its role in regulating PPPs, urging it to work with other players to develop new products and build investor confidence.

Canziani noted that there were a number of untapped interests from potential international investors.

The World Bank IFC’s visit to ICRC is one in the series of meetings it has lined up with strategic government and private stakeholders that are germane to its course.