By Ndubuisi Francis
The Lagos State government has agreed to take up 24 per cent shares in the Lagos International Trade Fair Complex (LITFC) and the Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS) Complex, as the federal government finalises arrangements for the concession of some of its assets in the second quarter of this year.
According to a document presented by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) at an investors’ forum in Abuja yesterday, the process for the concession of the two complexes would commence soon.
At the event organised by the BPE, its Director-General, Mr. Alex Okoh, who presented the document, said: “The concession process is expected to commence during the second quarter of 2020.”
He said the federal government would be obligated to renew the concession provided all concession terms were met by the concessionaire.
“Lagos State has agreed to take up 24 per cent shares of the concession Special Purpose Vehicle in exchange for the requisite equity contribution in the redevelopment investment programme.”
Okoh said the TBS and LITFC had previously been given out but the government had to terminate the concessions.
“This was in view of the fact that the former concessionaire acted contrary to the expectations guiding the development of those iconic and legacy facilities in Nigeria,” he stated.
Okoh said the expectation of the federal government in undertaking the concession of the LITFC was that it should be able to catalyse business in the West African sub-region.
This, he stated, should be through strategic trade exhibitions that project the vast potential of the industrial axis of Lagos and Ogun States.
According to him, it is the government’s expectation that the TBS must move beyond a disjointed cluster of business premises to world-class integrated events and business facility comparable to its counterparts globally.
