FEC Approves N169bn Private Sector Funds For Roads Construction

Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN)

Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved N169 billion in private sector funds for road construction.

Gatekeepers News reports that Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola said this was the government’s Tax Credit Scheme.

Fashola stated that the scheme was initiated in 2019 through Executive Order 7 signed by President Muhammadu Buhari, which allows the private sector to finance public infrastructure in place of tax and then offset it over time using tax credits.

Under the scheme, the FEC approved 234-kilometre road from Bali to Sheti through Gashaka to Gembu in Taraba State at the sum of N95,232,474,010.72.

The Minister said an existing N20 billion under NNPC Tax Credit Scheme would be used to kick-start the project.

Fashola added, “The second road, which is also the tax credit scheme, which was approved by Council, is actually three roads. The applicant, in this case, is Mainstream Energy Solutions, a major energy player in the country now seeking to also participate in this policy by investing a total of N74,486,577, 050.”