From Maurice Okafor, Enugu.
In the commitment to advance socio economic development of Enugu state through disruptive innovation, the Enugu state Government will hold it’s Inaugural Investment Round table on Friday,September 1,during which Governor Peter Mbah will unveil a ₦1.6 trillion ($2.1 billion) pipeline of 30 projects to investors and members of the public.
Governor Mbah will also launch the Enugu State Integrated Sector-Based Productivity Growth Strategy at the event.
The Secretary of the State Government (SSG), Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, said the Investment and Economic Growth Round table is a precursor to the launch of the maiden multi-stakeholder and fully transactional Diaspora and Investment Forum scheduled for the second quarter of 2024, to hold in Enugu which will also draw investors from across various industries locally and internationally.
He stated, “The ₦1.6 trillion Naira ($2.1 billion) project pipeline spans several industries, including transportation and healthcare infrastructure, as well as energy, power, and aggro-allied industrialization.
“Senior executives from the World Bank Group, the African Development Bank Group, the International Finance Corporation, the African Export-Import Bank, the United Kingdom Department for Trade and Business, the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), as well as the Nigerian Sovereign Wealth Fund, commercial banks, corporate pension funds, private equity funds, infrastructure funds, and other domestic financial institutions will convene in Enugu to chart a course for effectively mobilizing private capital for large-scale infrastructure projects, including net-zero aligned projects that can unlock Enugu State’s and South-Eastern Nigeria’s economic potential.
“The Round table discussion will cover a range of topics, including addressing barriers to investment and economic growth in Enugu State; improving investor confidence in the State understanding investor’s risk and return preferences; and identifying partnership opportunities for project preparation and co‑investments” he stated.
According to Prof. Onyia, investment Round table is in line with Governor Mbah’s determination to grow the Enugu State economy from $4.4 billion to $30 billion.
“Implementation of the State’s Integrated Sector-Based Productivity Growth Strategy will ensure that those sectors with the greatest potential for growth are supported through measures to reduce unnecessary regulation and boost innovation and growth.
“The new administration recognizes private investment as a key driver of long-term economic growth and prosperity, and the round -table discussion will lay the groundwork for long-term partnerships and cooperation that can catalyze Enugu’s accelerated economic growth.
“Part of this administration’s agenda is the development of an Investment Plan for the Integrated Sector-Based Productivity Growth Agenda with a credible pipeline of projects that will advance transformative change in key sectors. When it is released, the Plan is expected to sensitize and encourage private sector investors, as well as other stakeholders, to participate in the financing and delivery of critical infrastructure investment projects.
“We are optimistic about the future of PPPs and investments in Enugu as we build a clear legal, institutional and policy framework that should provide the business-friendly environment that can enhance private sector participation and catalyze the scale of financing required to deliver these essential public infrastructure services.
“This investment round-table is therefore the first step towards generating investment interest in these critical areas and charting a clear path to bank-ability for these projects”, he concluded.
It would be recalled that as part of his message on the 32 years anniversary celebration of creation of Enugu state , Governor Mbah has assured that he would live up to the task of navigating a reliable economic development of Enugu state,which is dream of the founding fathers.
Mbah had stated,’ I salute the determination and courage of our founding fathers and all those who contributed in one way or the other in the tortuous journey of ensuring that the quest of a state of our own came to fruition. We will never take their sacrifices for granted”.
“Our agenda is to immortalize them by fashioning out a state that they would be proud of and a state that would stand as a reference point in socio economic transformation in the country’.
Governor Mbah equally reiterated his commitment to transform the internally generated revenue of the state from the current 4.4 billion dollars to 30 billion dollars within the tenure of his administration.
‘We are determined to take our economy from the present 4.4 billion dollars to 30 billion dollars and we are laying the necessary foundation to this exponential economic revolution’.
From all indications, the Investment Round table on Friday,September I,promises to be one of the strategies of realizing this objective.
