Mr Abdulrasaq Oyinloye, the managing director of The Infrastructure Bank (TIB), stated this on Wednesday in Abuja at the opening of a training programme on toll roads and road management.
"South Africa has been into road management for the past 20 years and it is good for Nigeria to learn from them so as not to reinvent the wheel."
Oyinloye said TIB was collaborating with the Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA) to organise the two-day training for stakeholders in the road sector.
He said the training, entitled Toll Roads and Road Management: A Sustainable Approach, would enable stakeholders to understand the issues and dynamics of financing, construction, operation and maintenance of roads.
Oyinloye said DBSA had been involved in the funding of road projects in South Africa and TIB was working closely with the bank to replicate and adapt its model in Nigeria.
He noted that the Federal Government had made significant progress in infrastructure development which was facilitated by the emergence of the Public Private Partnership (PPP).
Oyinloye added that the pace at which some federal roads were being rehabilitated, expanded and maintained must be sustained.
"This can only be achieved through a marriage of convenience between the public and the private sectors."
The Director of PPP in the Federal Ministry of Works, Mr Tunde Ekunsunmi, said government had decided to formulate a policy that would involve private operators in road development and management.
Ekunsunmi said the Federal Government was committed to ensuring that Nigerian roads are well built and maintained through PPP and tolling.
The Executive Director of South African National Roads Agency Ltd, Mr Jacobus Smit, who is the chief trainer, stressed the need to formulate and enforce relevant laws for maintenance of roads after construction.
Smit, who also stressed the need for adequate budgetary provision for road construction, noted that PPP contributed to the success of toll road management in South Africa.
Source: MSN
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