The National Sovereign Wealth Investment Authority (NSWIA) presently holds the N50 billion Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF), which will be used in part to pay the planned 2024 budget, according to Senator Atiku Bagudu, Minister of Budget and Economic Planning.
He did point out that the N50 billion was not enough to finance the “Renewed Hope Transformational Projects,” which is why the federal government applied to the World Bank for a $2.5 billion loan.
During a briefing on the proposed Supplementary Appropriations Bill, Bagudu revealed this to the joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on National Planning and Economic Affairs.
He said that the management of the World Bank would meet shortly to decide whether to approve the loan.
The Sokoto-Badagry Road, the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road, the completion of ongoing railway projects for which the federal government has not yet provided corresponding funding, and the renovation and expansion of dams and irrigation schemes to increase agricultural production were among the projects, he said.
In order to improve energy competitiveness, Bagudu added, the budget would include more money for LNG and compressed natural gas (CNG) projects.
Given the high processing costs, Senate Committee Chairman Senator Yahaya Abdullahi pointed out that it could be more cost-effective to revise the 2024 budget than to prepare a new appropriations bill.
