LASG embrace partnerships for infrastructural development

The Lagos State Government said it has put plans in place to have Public-Private Partnerships to accelerate the delivery and maintenance of infrastructure in the state.

The Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Mr. Obafemi Hamzat, said the move was in line with the vision to maintain Lagos as a mega city, adding that infrastructure was an impactful development in the country.

Hamzat said the amount of money required to meet the needs of the increasing population of the state was more than $50bn over the next 10 years.

The commissioner said, “Raising this vast sum of money will not be easy and requires us to collaborate with the private sector through Public-Private Partnerships, to accelerate the delivery and maintenance of this much needed infrastructure.

“When we consider the value of these PPPs, we must assess them against our own benchmark, which takes into the account the needs of the people that will drive our development.”

According to him, the plan will involve addressing both the “hard and soft infrastructure needs.”

He said, “By soft infrastructure, I mean human infrastructure, our most distinguishing feature and the true asset of Lagos State.

“There can be no sustainable infrastructure development without sustained human capital development. It is the combination of the simultaneous investment in these two areas that will impact positively on Lagos State’s development trajectory.

“Creating an enabling environment for this approach to development requires an integrated and pragmatic approach to policy formulation and implementation. It requires us to build on the giant leap embarked upon by the current administration to place the state in an enviable position among cities around the globe.”

Hamzat added that there was a need to focus on more than just feeding the ‘stomach infrastructure’ of the people, or just concentrating on physical infrastructure.

The commissioner noted, “We must in essence address how physical infrastructure affects stomach infrastructure. We must focus on the full breadth of our human infrastructure requirements. The physical and social infrastructures that we are building are designed to enable our people achieve their goals.

“Without the infrastructure, Lagos cannot function properly, serve its increasing number of inhabitants, or compete on a global scale.

“The target is clear; we must build a state that our children will be proud to inherit.”

Source: Punch Newspaper