Nigeria is exploring the potential to mobilise over $500 billion through blue bonds to finance eligible maritime, inland waterways and other blue economy projects, as the Federal Government stepped up efforts to attract private capital and international development financing towards its target of building a $1 trillion economy by 2030.
The financing prospect emerged at an Investment Partnership Lab convened by the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, in collaboration with the European Union Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, on the sidelines of the 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja.
The disclosure comes as the government seeks alternatives to limited budgetary resources, with 17 indicative investment programmes presented to connect productive sectors with transport infrastructure and financing opportunities.
The proposed blue bond financing, however, remains a potential funding opportunity, not money already raised or secured by Nigeria.
The initiative comes as the Federal Government acknowledges that limited budgetary resources cannot independently finance the infrastructure and productive-sector investments required to achieve its economic growth ambitions.
Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, said Nigeria must mobilise additional capital through grants, technical assistance, development cooperation and private investment to complement public expenditure.
