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The construction of Nigeria’s transport, water, sanitation, and energy and power infrastructure has received $1.44 billion in funding from the African Development Bank.
This was revealed by Director General Lamin Barrow of the Bank’s Nigeria Country Department during the Nasarawa Investment Summit 2024, which took place in Lafia, the capital of Nasarawa State, on May 15–16. Senior government officials, members of the commercial sector, and foreign and local investors attended the event.
Recognizing the theme of the Summit’s relevance in light of the current state of the global economy, Barrow pointed out that Nigeria and Nasarawa State both suffer from severe infrastructure deficiencies that impede their attempts to diversify their non-oil production and become export-competitive globally.
Nigeria has to invest an estimated $2.3 trillion in infrastructure between 2020 and 2043 to bring its stock of infrastructure up to the international benchmark of 70% of GDP, according to the 2020 National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan. $575 billion is needed for the transportation sector, while $759 billion is needed for the energy sector alone.
“To address this problem, the African Development Bank is supporting the federal and state governments to improve the national and state infrastructure. As of April 2024, 31 percent of the Bank’s active portfolio, valued at $1.44 billion, is supporting infrastructure development in Nigeria,” Barrow said in a speech he read on behalf of the Group’s President, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina.
To achieve an industrial renaissance, he stated that Nasarawa State and Nigeria needed to prioritize the value addition and beneficiation of natural resources, strengthen institutional capacity, accelerate the mobilization of domestic resources, increase productivity in the agriculture sector, develop value chains and supportive infrastructure, enhance de-risk investments, and bridge the skills gap to increase youth employability.
“Nasarawa is renowned for its enormous agricultural potential, especially for its well-organized system of commodities aggregation that guarantees the marketability and traceability of produce. The fact that Nasarawa is emphasizing the growth of agricultural value chains for important commodities like sesame, rice, and ginger is comforting.
The conference was opened by Dr. Doris Nkiruka Uzoka-Anite, Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment, on behalf of Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The nation, she said, was proud of Nasarawa State, especially for the progress the state had made in the mining industry.
“Nasarawa State has shown great vision in ensuring that their vast lithium deposits are developed and processed, ensuring that raw materials are not exported out of this country without any value addition, in line with the renewed hope agenda,” she said.
Governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule, expressed gratitude to the African Development Bank during his welcoming remarks for the bank’s ongoing support of the state’s industrial and sustainable economic development.
The Keffi and Akwanga water supply schemes in Nasarawa, which include pumping stations, intake works, a 62,850 m3/d treatment plant, 19.9 km of transmission pipes, 42 km of distribution pipes, service reservoirs, drainage, and buildings, were funded by the African Development Bank.
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