Nigeria, September 19, 2014: 
Nigeria’s National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan (NIIMP) is ready to be implemented following approval by the country’s Federal Executive Council.
Speaking at a press briefing, Abubakar Sulaiman, Nigeria’s Minister of National Planning and Deputy Chairman of the National Planning Commission, announced the launch of a strategic partnership between the National Planning Commission – which coordinated development of the plan – with the African Infrastructure Summit Group and the Initiative for Infrastructure and Modern City Development.
By implementing the 30-year master plan, Nigeria aims to invest $3.05 trillion across all infrastructure sectors, including energy, transportation, housing, water and social infrastructure. In the first five years alone, Nigeria estimates that $166 billion will be needed to deliver quality infrastructure.
In July 2012, the government directed the National Planning Commission to coordinate the preparation of a National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan (NIIMP) for the country. Experts in the sector had then viewed the plan as a vital tool for national development, targeted at harmonising infrastructure for effective management. But they also expressed concern that the plan would be sustained and implemented effectively if the utility of geospatial data were taken into cognisance by major actors involved in its implementation.
Last year, Ademola Adeyemi, Head, Geographic Information System in the National Planning Commission, called on ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to devote 10% of their annual budgetary allocation to geospatial data development. He defined geospatial data as the data or information that identifies the geographic location of boundaries on earth such as natural or artificial features, oceans, among others.
Source: allAfrica
