ABUJA: Nigeria’s central bank is seeking asset managers for a new $2.6 billion infrastructure investment company set up to develop the country’s crumbling transport networks and boost economic growth.
The asset managers will originate and manage infrastructure projects, generating return from investments, the bank said on Saturday. The deadline for submission of proposals is March 16.
Nigeria emerged out of economic recession in the fourth quarter of 2020, despite a contraction in the year as a whole. But growth is fragile, as poor infrastructure has stymied the economy for decades, holding back the distribution of wealth in Africa’s biggest economy.
President Muhammadu Buhari approved the creation of Infrastructure Corporation of Nigeria (InfraCorp.) in February to focus on infrastructure development, with a seed capital of 1 trillion naira ($2.6 billion).
Initial capital will come from the central bank, the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), and the Africa Finance Corporation, the central bank has said.
Economists say the poor state of Nigeria’s infrastructure has put at risk the Buhari government’s ambitions for turning the country into a manufacturing hub and growing the agriculture sector.
In 2017, the government set up the Development Bank of Nigeria to boost credit to small-scale businesses that make up almost of half of the economy.
Now the government wants to fix its crumbling roads and rail network that have made it hard to move agricultural and finished goods to markets.
