Nasarawa, UK Agency Train MDAs On Climate-smart Projects

Nasarawa State government has trained management staff of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) on the best approaches to implement climate-smart Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) projects to address  infrastructure deficit and boost economy.

The capacity-building workshop was anchored by the Nasarawa Investment and Development Agency (NASIDA) in collaboration with the United Kingdom Nigeria Infrastructure Advisory Facility (UKNIAF).

At the event in Lafia on Friday, NASIDA managing director, Mr Ibrahim Abdullahi,  said the importance of PPP to infrastructure development could not be overemphasised, adding that Nasarawa remained a shining example among sub- nationals in West Africa.

Abdullahi said the essence of PPP in delivering public good was to optimise non-performing or underperforming assets of government in order to provide greater value to both government and the people.

He appreciated the partnership with UKNIAF on the project delivery framework which he said, aligned with the objectives of  the Nasarawa State government to deliver infrastructure projects with catalytic effect on its ambition to grow the economy.

“UKNIAF had supported us to deliver critical reforms, develop contingent liability framework and PPP manual which is one of the most effective and most robust by a sub national in Nigeria.

“Our PPP framework looks at transactions and projects as candidates of the policies and how we can improve on policies from lessons learnt from transactions.

“We have done a significant amount of transactions more than any other state in Nigeria, and if we are to sustain the delivery of PPPs in this magnitude, there is need to build our capacity continuously,” he said.

Abdullahi urged the participants to cascade the knowledge gained down to others in their various MDAs to become conversant with the principles and skills required to deliver sustainable PPPs across all sectors of the economy.

Also speaking, a PPP specialist with UKNIAF, Mr Mike Imafido, said the participants were exposed to a new  PPP tool known as 360 Degree Project Screening and Assessment Tool (360 degree PSAT).

He explained that the tool was developed to support institutions screen and prepare infrastructure projects.

“Outputs from the tool is a pipeline of projects that are bankable. It allows policy makers to easily make a decision about whether to commit further resources on a project or not.

“Ultimately, it allows public institutions to ensure value for money on projects.” Imafidor said.

He pointed out that workshop aims to improve the delivery of climate-smart PPP infrastructure projects in Nasarawa State.

“We looked at how to navigate the constraints in delivering such projects, how to cascade the learnings from other projects to be able to scale and deliver quick, as well as how to  prepare bankable climate-smart infrastructure projects.

“We provided practical guidance on how Nasarawa State can advance its pipeline of PPP projects, specifically in the areas of Agriculture, Energy and Technology in order to attract financing, “ he said.