Infrastructure Bank Decries Low Spending on Projects

Managing Director of the Infrastructure Bank, Mr. Adekunle Oyinloye

Obinna Chima

The Infrastructure Bank Plc (former Urban Development Bank) has stressed the need for increased allocation of funds to the development of capital projects in the country.

Managing Director of the Infrastructure Bank, Mr. Adekunle Oyinloye, disclosed this in a lecture titled: “A Roadmap for the Transformation of Nigerian infrastructure for Enhanced Productivity,” delivered at a forum organised by the Business Club Ikeja (BCI), Lagos.
Onyinloye, who said that the nation spends about N158 billion ($10 billion) on infrastructure annually, urged policy makers to increase the amount so as to facilitate the development of critical infrastructure in the country.

According to him, the annual amount spent on infrastructure was very minimal compared to the nation’s Gross Domestic Products (GDP) of about $250 billion.

Also, Oyinloye said that this figure was also  very small compared to China which spends 12 per cent of its GDP of about $7.3 trillion on infrastructure annually. He insisted that the country needed to do more in channelling resources into infrastructure spending.
He also called for a roadmap to address the infrastructure challenges, which according to him, should be embraced by all stakeholders in the country.

The bank chief said that there was the need to identify the problems associated with infrastructure deficit and proffer solutions on systematic basis. He said that the current administration was ensuring that there was sustainable socio-economic growth to drive its development agenda.

Oyinloye noted that  the problem of infrastructure deficit was also being addressed through technical and financial perspectives which had been generally accepted by all stakeholders in the industry.
He equally called for public-private sector partnership to address the infrastructure deficit as well as ensuring that procurement for capital projects were fair and complied with international best practice.

Oyinloye said that Infrastructure Bank Plc, had over the last four years, been calling for establishment of  National Integrated Infrastructure Development Master Plan to also address the problem of infrastructure deficit in the country.
The bank provides financial solutions to support key long term infrastructure projects, including transportation infrastructure, municipal common services, mass housing and district development, solid waste management and water provision, and power and renewable energy projects.