The Nasarawa State Executive Council (NEC) has announced the landmark ratification of five signature projects to be delivered through Public Private Partnerships (PPP).
A press statement by the MD/CEO Nasarawa Investment and Development Agency, Ibrahim A. Abdulahi, said: “This was in line with Governor Abdullahi Sule’s vision to revitalise the economy leveraging private sector expertise and capabilities.
“The five projects approved by the SEC demonstrated clear confidence in the private sector by the government and puts to test the state’s new PPP Framework under the Nasarawa Investment & Development Agency Law (NASIDA Law).
“Notably, these projects cut across key sectors of our state’s economy, namely; Transport, Housing, Technology and Health.”
Giving a breakdown he said the projects included the Nasarawa Technology Village; the Nasarawa Transport Company; and the Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital.
According to him, “In partnership with ABS Blueprint and Modern Shelter, as well as their IT partners, the Nasarawa Technology village is an integrated PPP project with housing, technology centres and commercial areas all embedded.
“It will foster the development of core IT skills and capabilities in the state and position it as a centre of technology excellence in the country, servicing local and international markets.”
Similarly, “The private sector driven Nasarawa Transport Company is designed to facilitate trade and investment in Nasarawa state by supporting the efficient movement of goods and people across locations of surplus to areas of need.
“It is also a critical requirement in ensuring the optimization of modern bus terminals that are currently been completed in the state.
“The expectation is that the Transport Company will innovatively tackle the challenge in the existing transport system and support improvements in income level of the populace, create employment, improve security, and ensure overall improvement in the standard of living in the state,” Abdulahi further stated.
The statement further said that, “Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital has been a key healthcare delivery centre for the state over the years.
“In a bid to achieve a more effective and efficient service delivery at the Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital in Lafia, government decided to concession the operations and maintenance of three key services within the hospital namely; Radiology, Laboratory, and Mortuary departments.
“The concession will see increased private sector investment in these departments, improve the quality of service, and support overall improvements in the delivery of quality health care.
“This has become more important in a COVID-19 era, where health care systems have been stretched beyond their limits. This concession is therefore one of the proactive measures by the State to ramp up the capacity of the state’s key tertiary health institution.”
