Dangote Group, Lafarge Africa Plc, and four other companies have joined in on the Federal Government’s drive to build infrastructure across the country.
The companies, which also include the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG), Unilever Nigeria Plc, Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc, and China Road and Bridge Corporation Nigeria Limited, will build 19 roads, totalling 794.4kilometres in 11 states across each of the six geopolitical zones of the country.
This was made possible with President Muhammadu Buhari’s signing of Executive Order 007 (2019) to allow private companies construct and refurbish roads across the country.
Following the order, the two-year-old Nigeria Industrial Policy and Competitiveness Advisory Council (Industrial Council) has chalked a landmark achievement in accelerating infrastructure development for economic growth.
Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, who listed the roads at the signing ceremony, said the scheme is the outcome of efforts to think outside of the box and deploy new techniques to develop critical road infrastructure in the country.
The executive order is a Road Infrastructure Development and Refurbishment Investment Tax Credit Scheme which enables the Federal Government leverage private sector funding for the construction or refurbishment of eligible road infrastructure projects.
In his speech at the signing ceremony, President and Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, said “the impact is huge because it will allow private sector to use their capital, their know-how and also their efficiency in terms of delivering roads in time and the Nigerian government will be saving billions of naira.”
The Federal Executive Council approved the Industrial Council in March 2017; as a vehicle for partnering with the private sector on the industrialisation agenda to address key hindrances to the growth of manufacturing in the country.