Lagos Governor Seeks Private Funding For Fourth Mainland Bridge

NAIJA NEWS

Lagos State Government Akinwunmi Ambode Thursday said more public private partnership (PPP) in infrastructure funding, including the proposed Fourth Mainland Bridge, was needed to make the state a preferred destination for investment.

He said the state was determined to explore the PPP model in areas such as road network expansion, transportation, housing and environment.

“Some critical projects we have identified to be implemented through collaboration with the private sector include the Fourth Mainland Bridge, the Okokomaiko road expansion project, Oko-Oso-Itoikin road dualisation and the Ikorodu-Agbowa-Itoikin-Ijebu-Ode road project,” he said.

The governor, represented by the Deputy Governor Dr Idiat Adebule, spoke at the 2017 annual lecture of the law firm of Punuka Attorneys and Solicitors in Lagos.

The theme was: The role of public private partnership in infrastructural development.

The governor said the government was not abdicating its responsibilities but essentially releasing scarce resources for other important projects.

He said an advantage of bringing the private section into governance was the efficiency it brings to project management and the issues of waste, delayed delivery and abandonment associated with public projects.

Ambode the said government revenue cannot be relied upon as the only source of funding for developmental projects.

“The reality of this fact is becoming clearer as a result of reduction in government revenue occasioned by dwindling oil prices and increasing need of the people,” he said.

The governor said the state has already effectively used the PPP model in the delivery of critical infrastructure, such as the Bus Rapid Transit system, the ongoing Eko Atlantic Project, the Lekki Free Trade Zone, among others.

Senior Partner, Punuka Attorneys and Solicitors, Chief Anthony Idigbe (SAN), said government alone cannot be saddled with investing tax payers’ money in otherwise commercially viable infrastructure projects in the face of other social needs.

“Consequently, private participation is needed for the enhancement of infrastructural development and indeed is required as, perhaps, a matter of social commitment, to step up their game to fill the infrastructural funding gap.

“In addition, they can bring private sector experience to conceptualisation, design, execution, operation and maintenance of infrastructure,” Idigbe said.

Among speakers at the event were Chief Executive Officer of Chapel Hill Denham, Mr Bolaji Balogun, Founder, E. Anthony Professional Corporation, Canada, Anthony Ross (QC) and Partner, WeirFoulds LLP, a Canandian based law firm, Frank Walwyn, among others.