The Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) says it is developing a Public Private Partnership (PPP) investment catalogue for Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
A statement issued by Mr Ifeanyi Nwoko, Acting Head, Media and Publicity, ICRC, on Wednesday in Abuja, said the catalogue would help advise the MDAs on opportunities in the various sectors.
The statement said Dr Jobson Ewalefoh, Director-General of ICRC, disclosed this during a courtesy and monitoring visit to Dr Dayo Mobereola, Director-General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) in Lagos.
Ewalefoh said that the commission would no longer wait for the MDAs or private investors to come up with PPP proposals.
He noted that there were so many opportunities for investment in infrastructure development using PPP that were yet to be tapped across various sectors.
Ewalefoh, therefore, said that the commission was already identifying such opportunities, which it would catalogue and issue as PPP investment advice to all relevant MDAs.
“We are coming up with a catalogue of potential PPP projects that we are going to be presenting to agencies as PPP advice.
“It would say: look, this opportunity exists here, why don’t you tap in, it has been done in this and that country.
“Part of our mandate is to build the PPP market, it is not just to regulate and give certification but to ensure that MDAs know the opportunities.
“There are many areas that you can tap into”.
He noted that NIMASA had a huge untapped potential, adding that it was necessary to collaborate on those potential projects.
“This is part of the charge to me by Mr President that I should harness private sector funds to build infrastructure.
“The only way we can achieve that is to go out and identify areas where private sector funding will be needed to build infrastructure for Nigerians to enjoy the promise of renewed hope.
“We have identified some of these areas in NIMASA and the entire maritime space and that is why we are here today,” he said.
The ICRC D-G noted that the safety agency was already embarking on key PPP arrangements to build, operate and/or maintain some of its infrastructure
He, however, urged the NIMASA D-G to work towards expanding the scope of the agency’s PPP engagements.
Ewalefoh also informed the NIMASA team that the commission also visited to ascertain the level of performance of the PPP projects under the agency.
He also informed them that the visit was also to evaluate NIMASA’s level of compliance with the PPP contract as well as those of the concessionaires.
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In his remarks, the D-G of NIMASA commended the D-G of ICRC for his new policy direction aimed at accelerating the process of PPP procurements.
Mobereola expressed concern about the length of time it took to complete the certification and approval of PPPs, noting that streamlining the ICRC processes was a welcome development.
He assured the ICRC D-G of the cooperation of NIMASA to boost PPP infrastructure development in the maritime safety sector.
The statement said the duo of ICRC and NIMASA D-Gs also discussed certain areas that hampered the ongoing PPP engagements, for which Ewalefoh promised to intervene and liaise with the relevant government stakeholders.
It said the ICRC team, accompanied by the NIMASA team, conducted a joint monitoring visit to the concessionaires of the Offshore Waste Reception Facilities which are the African Circle and OXP Marine.
The statement said the ICRC team sought to know the level of compliance with the terms of the PPP contract agreement and possible challenges.
It said the team resolved to hold a stakeholder engagement to address the identified challenges(NAN).
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