The Infrastructure Company (InfraCorp) being created by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), African Finance Corporation (AFC) and the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) to raise N15 trillion will be unveiled in October, CBN Governor Emefiele has disclosed.
In his address Tuesday at the 14th Annual Banking & Finance Conference, organized by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Emefiele said the “InfraCorp would enable the use of mostly private capital to support infrastructure investment that will have a multiplier effect on growth across critical sectors.”
Emefiele explained that the purpose of the N15trn being raised was to address some of Nigeria’s infrastructure needs, while providing reasonable returns to investors.
“We are all aware of the criticality of infrastructure in fostering economic growth. Yet, Nigeria still has a huge gap to fill in this regard,” the CBN governor said, adding, “that is why we believe the banking sector must pay attention to providing longterm finance for infrastructure development in the country.”
He said with the decline in revenues due to federal and state government because of the drop in crude oil prices, alternative ways of funding infrastructure were critical to the sustained growth of the economy.
While noting that this well-structured fund could act as a catalyst for growth in the medium and the long run, the CBN governor said the support of the banking community was important in achieving this objective.
