The State of the Nigeria Infrastructure

Nigeria has the inadequate and dilapidated infrastructure. Some of the interesting quotation about our infrastructure include:

“At present, the value of Nigeria’s infrastructure is about 35 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), paling in comparison with 70 percent for larger economies,” he added.

”Izuwa said between 2009 and 2013, Nigeria invested a mere $664 per capita per annum in infrastructure or three percent of GDP, compared with an average of $3,060 or five percent of GDP in developed countries.’

“Less than 56 percent of Nigerians have access to electricity compared to 80 percent for developed countries.  This level of access translates to an average of 24 hours in a week.

“For over 75 percent of businesses operating in Nigeria, a power supply is a major constraint.  Of the over 10,000 MW of Nigerian power sector generation capacity, between 2,500 to 3,500 MW is available for over 170 million.

“Compares unfavourably with South Africa that generates 50,000 megawatts for a population of about 50 million,” he added.

Izuma pointed out that about 68 percent of all roads in the country are in deplorable condition, with only about 18 percent of Nigerian federal roads paved.

“Experiences from other countries show that primary financing by banks and refinancing through bonds is the ideal model for infrastructure funding.

“Through this model, the focus of commercial and merchant banks in infrastructure financing should be on providing funding up to the pre-commissioning stage of projects.

“Given their strong project appraisal and monitoring skills, and their healthy capitalization, banks are well placed to take up financing in the pre-commissioning phase, when project risk is the highest.

“Government must build a track record of public-private partnership (PPP) performance to attract large sums of long-term funding from pensions funds and insurance.”

Nigeria will not be able to sustain her current levels of population and economic growth without enhancing her infrastructure. PwC’s 2014 report titled “Trends, Challenges and Future Outlook: Capital Projects & Infrastructure in East, South & West Africa” indicates an opportunity-filled future for infrastructure development in Nigeria with infrastructure spending estimated to grow from $23 billion in 2013 to $77 billion in 2025. Investing in infrastructure will drive economic growth, provide jobs, and deliver vital services to the country and the majority of its citizens.

social infrastructure sectors in Nigeria ranging from energy, transport, and urban development / real estate, to healthcare, water, agriculture, waste management, and Information Communication Technology (ICT).

Other infrastructure sectors such as transportation (roads, rail, seaports and airports) have equally significant gaps and similar challenges. For example, road transport is the predominant mode of transportation and accounts for 80% of goods’ traffic in Nigeria, but only 20% of the road network in the country is paved. There are also significant gaps in both rural and urban ecosystems across Nigeria ranging from availability of basic infrastructures such as housing, healthcare, water, and waste management, to other enabler infrastructures like ICT, hospitality, and industrial/commercial real estate.

Stable and cost-efficient power availability has been widely acknowledged as pivotal to the successful economic development of any country. Yet, the power sector remains one of Nigeria’s greatest infrastructure challenges, with extremely limited electricity access across the country. Nigeria currently generates about 3,879MW of electricity in a country with a population of about 177million compared to South Africa’s 45,645MW with a population of 54million.