ABUJA (Reuters) – The president of Nigeria has approved the creation of a new company that will focus on infrastructure development, with seed capital of 1 trillion naira ($ 2.63 billion), the head of state said Friday.
The company, called Infra-Co, will be a public-private partnership and seed capital will come from the central bank, the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) and the Africa Finance Corporation, it said.
“Infra-Co will fund the development, rehabilitation and reconstruction of public assets and invest in advanced infrastructure projects for roads, railways, electricity and other key industries,” President Muhammadu Buhari’s office said in a statement.
The board of directors will be chaired by the governor of the central bank, the director of the state investment fund of Nigeria, the president of the Africa Finance Corporation and three independent private sector directors, the statement said.
The goal is for the entity to grow to 15 trillion naira in assets and capital, it added.
Nigeria’s poor transportation and electricity grids have stunted economic growth for decades, holding back wealth distribution in the country with Africa’s largest economy, but 40% of the people live below the national poverty line of 137,430 naira ($ 360 , 99) per year.
($ 1 = 380.70 naira)
(Reporting by Felix Onuah; Written by Alexis Akwagyiram; Edited by Raissa Kasolowsky)