The Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), said it has commenced operation at the Nigeria Institute of Infrastructure and Public Private Partnership (NII3P), an initiative of the commission.Mrs Manji Yarling, Acting Head, Media and Publicity of the commission said in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja, that the operation was in line with its mandate.
Yarling said that the mandate include development of Public Private Partnership (PPP) as preferred public procurement route in the face of dwindling revenue available to government.“As a result of several internal and external recommendations with respect to PPP capacity gaps, it has became necessary for the commission to establish a dedicated arm.“This is with a focus on PPP capacity building manned by ICRC staff and requiring little additional spending in the face of dwindling resources and mounting needs,” he said.The acting head of media added that all required statutory approvals for NII3P were completed in 2019.
“In response to the almost new normal of living with the COVID-19 pandemic, it has therefore, become necessary to secure existing PPP transactions and provide knowledge on how to structure new partnership in the country.“The commission believes this is the time to ensure that PPPs are working well, especially as government’s main revenue source has been impacted by the pandemic,” she said.Yarling said it was essential to put a face to the numerous PPP capacity building programmes planned for the year.
She added that the institute would commence virtual online learning campus and in time become physical as resources became available.According to her, the commission will kick off online certificate courses on NII3P operations between June and July.
“In view of all the above, the commission wishes to notify the public that the NII3P has commenced operations and is expected to grow to meet the nation’s PPP capacity building needs to upscale Nigeria’ infrastructure stock.
“NII3P aims at being the best in Africa; and as a result, we will also gradually step into the bigger global picture, with other trainings and certifications,” she said.The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that ICRC was established to regulate PPP activities in Nigeria to address physical infrastructure deficit which hampers economic development. (NAN)
