THE Africa Finance Corporation, AFC, has urged all tiers of government to provide protection for private sector funding in concessioned projects to attract more investors.

According to it, this will help bridge the nation’s huge infrastructure gap.

The President and CEO of Africa Finance Corporation, AFC, Mr Samaila Zubairu, made the call in Lagos on Friday at  media briefing to mark the AFC’s 15th Anniversary.

Zubairu said that Nigeria’s huge infrastructure gap could be closed within a short period if governments offered protection for concession agreements in the construction and energy sectors.

He  advised governments to focus on health, security, education, water, sanitation and other social services while  the private sector would do better managing transportion and energy sectors.

He also advised that governments  put buffers in place, such that if things go wrong, the government could absorb the repayment on projects concessioned to attract more investors.

“So if government and you the media, could help by elaborating the need for government to provide the enhancements that will mobilise  private sector capital in transport and energy, that the private sector would fund and they (government) can invest in security, education and health, water and sanitation, it will make it easy for private sector investments.”

According to him,  the AFC has invested over three billion dollars in Nigeria and could go up to 3.5 billion dollars.

He said that the corporation had done more projects in Nigeria than the rest of Africa and was willing to do more but that the nation had several other finance options, hence giving less opportunities.

He reeled out statistics of environment friendly projects done across Nigeria and Africa as well as its other energy and climate resilient solutions.

According to Zubairu, the infrastructure gap is huge and offers vast  investment opportunities for the private sector.

He said that the AFC had made a lot of impact within its 15 years of existence by  building roads, bridges and other infrastructure linking the continent.

He said that statistics of investments in solid mineral and infrastructure in Nigeria and Africa would add value to the environment while creating value and solutions to climate issues.

Zubairu said explained that  AFC was created to provide solutions to Africa’s huge infrastructure deficit and would not be deterred by insecurity in any country, adding that, project risks were usually factored in.

The President and CEO of AFC  that infrastructure development projects were normally done and projects  usually executed in collaboration with local partners, irrespective of political volatility of the affected states or countries.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the AFC was established in 2007.

It is a multilateral financial institution, created by African sovereign states to provide pragmatic solutions to Africa’s infrastructure deficit and challenging operating environment.

AFC pursues these solutions by developing and financing infrastructure, natural resources and industrial assets for the enhanced productivity and economic growth of African states. (NAN)