Lagos, Nigeria, November 14, 2011
—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, today announced it will provide Advisory Services for a new public-private partnership to build a hospital in Nigeria’s Cross River State, and that it will explore the financing of a second Niger River bridge project at the request of the government.
The announcements were made at the opening session of the Africa Regional Public-Private Partnership Conference in Lagos today. The two day event, sponsored by IFC, the World Bank’s Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility, and Nigeria’s Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission, seeks to bridge the gap between PPP theory and best practices to help create new opportunities for increased private infrastructure in Nigeria and other countries.
The IFC Advisory Services mandate will help the Cross River State government identify a private company to build and operate a new hospital. It builds on a successful mandate IFC received to help the government of Lesotho attract a private investor to build a world-class hospital in Maseru that opened in October. IFC will also consider the feasibility of a public-private partnership that would lead to investment for a second Niger River bridge crossing.
Jean Philippe Prosper, IFC Director for Eastern and Southern Africa said, “Well-structured Public-Private Partnerships in physical and social infrastructure are a priority for IFC because they can help African governments raise the large sums of capital required to meet infrastructure needs in energy, health, logistics, transportation, and water and sanitation.”
The conference includes presentations from a range of public and private sector officials from across Africa including H.E. Liyel Imoke, Governor, Cross River State, Nigeria; H.E. Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, Governor, Niger State, Nigeria; Esther Koimett, Investment Secretary, Kenyan Ministry of Finance; Dr. Dayo Mobereola, Director General of the Lagos State Mass Transit Rail System; Herbert Pohl, partner at McKinsey & Company; and William Dachs of the Gautrain Management Company.
Yolande Duhem, IFC Director for West and Central Africa said, “There is a large body of economic research that shows infrastructure investment results in more growth and poverty reduction. We thank PPIAF and the government of Nigeria for working together with IFC on this conference to promote these important partnerships.”
The World Bank estimates that Africa requires more than $90 billion annually in investment in maintenance and new projects, but is spending less than half of that. The impact of the infrastructure deficit is enormous. The World Bank, for example, estimates that the Nigerian manufacturing sector must bear additional indirect costs amounting to 16 percent of sales because of bottlenecks in the business environment, much of it related to infrastructure. Losses due to power outages alone amount to 10 percent of sales.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. We help developing countries achieve sustainable growth by financing investment, providing advisory services to businesses and governments, and mobilizing capital in the international financial markets. In fiscal year 2011, amid economic uncertainty across the globe, we helped our clients create jobs, strengthen environmental performance, and contribute to their local communities—all while driving our investments to an all-time high of nearly $19 billion. For more information, visit
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About PPIAF
The Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility was created in 1999 to act as a catalyst to increase private sector participation in emerging markets. It provides technical assistance to governments to support the creation of a sound enabling environment for the provision of basic infrastructure services by the private sector.
About ICRC
The key strategic objective for the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission is to accelerate investment in national infrastructure through private sector funding by assisting the Federal Government of Nigeria and its Ministries, Departments, and Agencies to implement and establish effective Public Private Partnership process.
