World Bank set to provide $1b for infrastructure in Nigeria

Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, a World Bank subsidiary, on Wednesday announced that it would provide more than $1 billion (about N165 billion) support for infrastructure development in Nigeria.
The Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the agency, Michel Wormser, made this known while briefing newsmen in Abuja.
Wormser said that the money would come in the form of guarantees for the execution of infrastructure projects and programmes.
He said: “Over the next couple of years, I expect that MIGA will provide guarantee above $1 billion in Nigeria.
“This is primarily going to be in the energy sector.
“And, the discussions that we are going to have today is to precisely identify with the governments and agencies where they would see the highest value from MIGA involvement, given the development priorities of the country.”
He said that the World Bank was well known for providing support to private enterprises that could create jobs and encourage investments in the country.
According to Wormser, MIGA will provide mitigation of the risk, which will allow investors to come into the country and it will also help Nigerian investors to go to other countries outside their own boundaries.
He added: “So, the reason for my trip is to present the role that MIGA can play in helping the government in some infrastructure development that it is seeking and to help generate jobs by improving the environment in which enterprises operate.
“It is also to talk to Nigerian investors and see how MIGA can be helpful to them as they go outside of the borders of Nigeria.”
He said that he had interacted with private sector operators and banks on how they could partner to ensure long-term financing with minimal risks.
He stated that major areas of investment interest would be energy, ports, manufacturing and others that require foreign direct investment.
Wormser disclosed that MIGA had in past provided guarantees of about $364 million (about N70.06 billion) in Nigeria, adding that current investment would concentrate on energy “to strengthen investment in gas for power transmission and generation
“MIGA can help in all of these areas by supplementing all the other investments that government is doing and the support it is getting from the other actors”.
He said that Nigerian economic growth had become envy of many countries, stressing, however, that there was the need to create jobs and competitiveness in the system.
Wormser added: “The banks want to be part of that story, want to participate in the scaling up of the infrastructure and they see the power sector as providing great opportunities as well as challenges, because of the reforms that are going on.
“What MIGA can do is to help these banks to take the risk of these investments by mitigating some of the perceived risks that are going to be over a long period of time as the reform consolidates and institutions mature.”
Wormser said that the coming of sponsors into the country to “reassure risk-bearing” was a good intervention that would help to grow bank businesses.
On other investments in Africa, he said that MIGA invested more than 50 per cent of its new commitment in Africa, adding that “in Cote d’Ivoire, we provided $750 million guarantee for a $2 billion investment.
“So, the message we are bringing to Nigerian private sector and government is that we could even do more for Nigeria.
“We want to focus on the right sectors which are going to make a difference for the citizens of Nigeria.”