The World Bank says Nigeria would need 300 years to fill its infrastructure gap at its current pace of development.
The Bank made this disclosure recently, while assessing Nigerias capacity to build the kind of infrastructure the country is currently seeking funding from it for.
The Federal Government has in the past justified its borrowing expenditure by asserting that the funds would be used to build state-of-the-art infrastructures.
Last month, President Muhammadu Buhari, while explaining his rationale behind the Nigerian government’s borrowing, stated that it is imperative that necessary infrastructure be built to create more opportunities to grow the Nigerian economy, and for this to happen the government needs external aid.
However, the World Bank has disclosed that Nigerias physical infrastructure gap would likely reach $3trillion in the next 30 years, and at this rate, it would take the country 300 years to close the infrastructure gap, which would cost the country 4% of its yearly Gross Domestic Product, GDP.
The Banks public finance review report on Nigeria reads in part: The level and quality of Nigerias infrastructure quality is low, with the country ranked 132 out of 137 countries for infrastructure in the 2018 Global Competitive Index. Nigerias physical infrastructure gap is estimated to reach $3tn over the next 30 years.
The assessment, according to the Bank, shows that Nigerias current level of infrastructure is low, and that it would take quite a lot to get it to where it needs to be. It also noted that there is a huge discrepancy with the countrys level of borrowing and its infrastructures.
The report also disclosed that Nigerias development outcomes were among the lowest globally.
Nigerias debt burden currently stands at about N66.61 trillion, including N23.77 trillion from the CBN and N42.84 trillion from domestic and foreign creditors.
