Director General of Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mr Alex Okoh, on Wednesday, said the agency will contribute N266.8 billion into the consolidated revenue account of the federal government from privatisation proceeds this year.
Speaking with reporters during a breakfast meeting in Abuja where he presented the 2020 Work Plan Revenue and Expenditure Projections, Okoh said the agency has projected total revenue of N270.8 billion from sales and concessioning of 16 public enterprises.
This amount is the net balance from the gross sales proceeds of N270.79 billion and expenditure of N3.93 billion.
According to the BPE boss, the largest chunk of the sales proceeds of N268.36 billion was being expected from energy transactions in Yola Electricity Distribution Company, Afam Power Limited, Nigeria Integrated Power Project and sale of additional shares of Geregu Power Plant.
Other transactions commenced in 2019 but would be concluded in 2020 include Nigeria Mining Company (NMC) houses in Ikeja and Jos, 11 remaining non-core assets of NMC houses, Lagos International Trade Fair Complex, Tafawa Balewa Complex and Nigeria Commodity Exchange.
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The rests are Bank of Agriculture, River Basin Development Authorities, NIPOST, Calabar and Kano Free Trade Zones and initial public offer of Nigeria Reinsurance.
Okoh added that new transactions planned for 2020 are ACM of Nigeria Limited, Non-Operational Power Plants, development of infrastructure facilities at the tertiary educational institutions and Nigerian Film Corporation.
Providing insight into why privatisation of some enterprises failed, Okoh admitted that certain investors should not have been allowed to take over the assets.
However, he also explained that certain fiscal policies of the government were inimical to the growth of such sectors.
For example, Okoh said market dynamics of retaining power like appropriate pricing were not right aside the fact that some distribution companies lacked capacity.
On the paper mills, he narrated that he met with core investors last year and that their challenges were similar to those in automobile and clay industries.
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