In Nigeria, the Lagos state government has revealed plans to raise N100billion ($290 million) in bond offering to finance critical infrastructural projects in the state, according to the Commissioner of Finance, Economic Planning and Budget, Akinyemi Ashade.

“We have a lot of projects in the area of tourism. We have the facelift of Lagos Marina, Onikan, and the construction of about six theatres in the state. We also have stadium to be constructed in order to engage the youths. We have key roads to be constructed also. We have the elderly care homes and other projects. We will focus on special taxes, consumption taxes, and find out other ways which would help us in furthering the 2018 budget,” he said at the 2018 budget consultative forum organized by the Ministry in Lagos.

He added that the state government was aware of the huge infrastructural deficit in the budget adding that the state has a very stable revenue base, but the challenges are huge. “In terms of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) the numbers are not in. But Lagos is a viable destination for investment. We know that there are quite a lot of projects that foreign investors are involved in. We always are open for business.”

According to him, in 2016 the state raised about N47billion ($136 million) through bond offerings.

Anita Fatunji