‘No new concession pact on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway’s reconstruction’

The Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) has denied reports that it granted a new “secret concession” over the Lagos-Ibadan
Expressway through “a back door arrangement”.

The commission, in a statement signed by its Head of Communications, Ms Deborah Okafor affirmed that “there has been no new concession granted as required by law and the national policy on Public Private Partnership (PPP) on Lagos- Ibadan Expressway.”

The statement explained that “after the termination of the concession granted to Bi-Courtney Highway Services Limited, the Federal Government decided to
reconstruct the Lagos-Ibadan expressway as a traditional procurement
through Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC).

“ However, the government could not wholly finance the project and had secured private financing from a consortium of banks to ensure the speedy completion of the road. Government is bound to repay the financing arrangement (such as interest payments, loan repayment, fees, charges and associated returns on equity investment) either through the annual budgetary system or from revenues accruable to Government if the operations and maintenance of the road is granted as a concession to a private party.

“If and when the Federal Government decides to grant concession over the
operations and maintenance aspect of the project, the ICRC, as the
regulatory agency, will ensure that the project passes through a normal
competitive process as provided for under the Infrastructure Concession
Regulatory Commission (Establishment, Etc) Act, 2005 Act, (the Act) and the
National PPP Policy on Public Private Partnership.”

Therefore, the commission pointed out that “any PPP structuring over the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway can only take place after the ongoing reconstruction is completed and handed over to the
Federal Government.

“The Federal Ministry of Works would then commence the process of
procurement of a competent project proponent to handle the tolling,”