Jobson Ewalefoh, the newly appointed director general of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), says his administration will streamline the processes required to deliver public-private partnerships (PPP) projects to accelerate infrastructure development.

Mr Ewalefoh said at a meeting on Monday that the streamlined processes would help bridge infrastructure gaps and stimulate the economy.

He said that PPP was required in every sector due to the country’s infrastructure gaps, hence the need for critical steps in advancing its delivery.

“With the gap that we have in Nigeria, we need PPPs in almost every area, and PPPs go beyond building infrastructure; service is a very key component of infrastructure building.

“Even if we do not build infrastructure, if we optimise the existing ones, what we will get will be novel, and the impact we will create will be so huge.

“If we use PPP to optimise the general hospitals that we have, what it will give us will be phenomenal,” he said.

He listed the key points of his policy direction, which include innovative financing, service delivery optimisation, and project categorisation.

Others are time-bound delivery of projects, inter-agency collaboration and strategic partnerships.

Mr Ewalefoh said his policy direction was in line with the “Renewed Hope Agenda” of President Bola Tinubu.

Citing the Nigerian Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan (NIIMP), he said the country’s infrastructure was weak and required financing to revolutionise the economy.

On already existing PPP projects, the DG said the commission would evaluate all concession contracts to ensure they were performing optimally.

He said the commission would also ensure the projects were a win-win for private investors and the government.

Mr Ewalefoh said the commission would, within the ambit of the law, resolve hitches that hampered the execution of projects as long as such projects were bankable and viable.

(NAN)