Responsible Investment (RI): An Alternative Funding Option for Roads-Bridges Management in Nigeria Under the Public-Private Partnership Framework

Abstract

Tolling is an age long revenue collection system institutionalised by public authorities for accumulating funds required for roads and bridges construction, maintenance and management. In spite of the merits of tolling as a major source of revenue in Nigeria, it was abruptly abrogated by the government few years ago because of reasons linked to ineffective governance, endemic corruption and lack of probity. The purpose of this paper is to make a case for responsible investment as an alternative funding mechanism for roads-bridges management (RBM) in Nigeria under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) framework. The paper adopts a discursive approach, relying on government policy documents, journal articles, online resources, working papers and reports on tolling best practices. The numerical and non-numerical data were critically analysed using content analysis enriched by tables and figures. The first finding indicates there are enormous potentials in tolls collection from privately funded roads and bridges for responsible investors in Nigeria under the PPP framework. The second finding identifies eight (8) PPP typologies that could be explored by investors under government’s new tolling policy. The paper concludes that the success of any tolls collection systems depend largely on effectiveness of governance, probity and accountability, which are core elements of responsible investment in the contemporary times.
Classification-JEL: G02, D01
Keywords: Responsible Investment; Public-Private Partnership; Roads-Bridges Management; Nigeria.