The Federal Government is planning to source $1.5 Billion-dollar loan from pension funds to support its proposed N7.73 Trillion Naira investment in transport infrastructure over the next five years.
With this, the government is seeking to obtain the facility to finance transport sector projects between 2021 and 2025 with hopes that the over N13 Trillion Naira pension fund will grow at an average rate of 15 per cent per-annum during the period.
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According to the released National Development Plan document, the over N7.7 Trillion Naira infrastructure spending would be sourced from the capital market, the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund portfolio, pension funds, among others
The NDP document read in part, “An additional $1.5bn (N620bn) could be sourced from pension funds, assuming Nigeria’s pension fund assets valued at over $31.3bn in 2019 grows at an average rate of 15 per cent per annum over the five years and pensions funds administrators opt to invest in infrastructure funds and infrastructure bonds up to the thresholds they are allowed to do.”
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The NDP further read in part, “To achieve the goals outlined in the transportation sector, the estimated public investment is N7.73tn from 2021 to 2025. Allocations will be made to priority projects in the sector as well as projects essential to the operations of the relevant MDAs at each level of government.
The document further revealed that with over 200 million people living across an area of over 900,000 square kilometres, the nation’s transport sector currently contributes an average of three per cent to the Gross Domestic Product.
However, the sector’s contribution to the GDP is expected to increase to five per cent in the next five to 10 years