NIIMP: Planning Commission bids States to establish Infrastructure Delivery Units

ABUJA (National Planning Commission Report) – The Minister of National Planning, Abubakar Sulaiman has stated that for the National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan (NIIMP) to be successfully implemented, the States and the Federal Government are expected to establish Infrastructure Delivery Units within the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to drive its implementation.

Abubakar Sulaiman said this during the meeting with States Commissioners for Economic Planning/Chief Executives of Planning Agencies from the 36 States of the Federation and Abuja over the weekend. Adding, the meeting was aimed at strategizing on the implementation of the National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan (NIIMP) and the development of the States Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan (SIIMP) as endorsed by the National Economic Council (NEC) and approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

According to him, the theme of the meeting is “the Implementation of NIIMP and the Development of States Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan (SIIMP).” The Minister also commended the States Commissioners for attending the meeting; saying it brought credence to the critical role of infrastructure in the economic development of nations. He further explained that in most middle income and advanced economies of the world, infrastructure constitutes 70% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which drives continuous economic growth in those countries.

He also stated that the NPC adopted an extensive, elaborate and inclusive process in the development of NIIMP with inputs from the public and private sectors as well as international development partners, professional bodies, academia and civil society, among others. He intensified that the draft NIIMP was taken to the six Geo-political zones of the country for more inputs from students’ bodies, traditional rulers and States institutions.

While noting that the draft NIIMP was first presented to the Economic Management Implementation Team (EMIT) and then adopted by the National Economic Council and finally approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on the 3rd of September, 2014 for implementation, he inferred that the approval of NEC and FEC has made NIIMP a policy document of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Suleiman hinted that the draft NIIMP will enable a coordinated and accelerated infrastructure development that will guide all tiers of government in infrastructure planning and development.

The Minister stated that the National Infrastructure Master Plan is intended to raise Nigeria’s stock of infrastructure from the current 20-25% of GDP to at least 70% of GDP by 2043; indicating that it will identify the investment required to bridge and expand Nigeria’s infrastructure across different asset classes, including energy, transport, ICT, housing, water, agriculture, mining, among others over the 30-year period.

Suleiman disclosed that the first 5 years of NIIMP operational plan (2014-2018) has an investment portfolio of USD 166.1billion (N26.9 trillion) towards delivering priority infrastructure projects with the public sector share being USD 86 billion. He revered that the private sector will be actively involved, so as to drive NIIMP implementation in the long run through Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement and outright private investment.

Speaking on the significance of engaging the States to drive its implementation, the Minister opined that the development and implementation of SIIMP as an extension of NIIMP in various States would help the nation to have a unified drive in all sectors of infrastructural development.