CBN to set up N15trn infrastructure firm with sovereign fund

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has got government’s nod to establish a N15 trillion ($39.4 billion) infrastructure development firm with the sovereign wealth fund to invest in the country’s transport network, according to the apex bank, Reuters said on Monday.

The money is estimated to cover an initial five-year period, Godwin Emefiele, the CBN chief said in a statement on the bank’s website.

Nigeria’s current parlous infrastructure state puts the aspiration of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, including plans to transform the country into a manufacturing hub and for the agriculture industry to drive economic growth, in limbo, economists say.

Planned to be jointly owned by CBN, the sovereign wealth fund and the African Finance Corporation (AFC), it will be managed independently.

READ ALSO: COVID-19: Buhari endorses distribution of $150m from Sovereign Wealth Fund among govt tiers

The Nigerian government launched the Development Bank of Nigeria in 2017 to boost credit to small-scale businesses that constitute roughly 50 per cent of the economy.

It now seeks to fix its dilapidated roads and rail networks to tackle decades of decay that have arrested growth and made it difficult to convey agricultural and finished goods to markets.

Buhari has vowed to reinforce the agriculture sector to reduce Nigeria’s expensive food imports and diversify the economy from overdependence on oil. Yet, access to long-term funds in local currency has been a big challenge.

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