The Federal Government says it is discussing with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to explore capital market and funding options in Nigeria for infrastructure development through Public Private Partners
A statement issued by Ifeanyi Nwoko, Acting Head, Media and Publicity, ICRC on Sunday in Abuja, said this was the focus of a meeting between the ICRC and the IFC- a member of the World Bank Group.
It said the World Bank team was on a fact-finding mission on how to develop and unlock the capital market in Nigeria.
The statement quoted Dr Jobson Ewalefoh, Director-General(D-G), ICRC as saying “the visit of the team is an important one that could redefine the space of infrastructure development in Nigeria.”
Ewalefoh said that alternative finance options like unlocking the capital market to fund PPPs were at the heart of his innovative financing policy agenda.
The D-G, while speaking after the technical meeting, 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 potential 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.
“At the end of the day, we agreed that viability is not a problem but there are other risks that investors were weary of.”
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