Thursday, 4 September 2014

Govt okays N485 trillion infrastructure master plan



A Thirty-year National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan (NIIMP) that would cost N485 trillion was ratified by the Federal Government Wednesday. The approved document which is to serve as a blueprint for accelerated integrated infrastructure development in the country from 2014 to 2043 was endorsed at the Federal Executive Council (FEC)’s weekly sitting. The Minister of National Planning/Deputy Chairman, National Planning Commission (NPC), Dr. Suleiman Olarewaju Abubakar, informed journalists of the ratification. The draft NIIMP is a blueprint for integrated infrastructure development for the next 30 years based on the country’s economic growth aspirations. To make it a sustainable document, the minister said the NIIMP Bill was being drafted and would be presented to the National Assembly as an Executive Bill in order to provide an enabling legal framework for sustained implementation. According to the minister, the plan which would cover a period of 30 years is expected to take $3.05 trillion (N485 trillion) to execute. He explained that $166.1 billion would be needed to implement the first phase of the plan which would cover 2014-2018 . He said that the plan would among other things address the lack of linkages in the infrastructure sector including energy (power, oil and gas), transport (roads, rail, ports and airports), housing, water, information and communication technology (ICT). The FEC approved the award of a contract for the design and construction of four marine tug boats to facilitate operations at the Nigerian Ports Authority( NPA) to the tune of €42.9 million.
Guardian Newspaper

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