By Kingsley Adegboye

The role of of infrastructure development to the economic growth of Nigeria with particular reference to the country’s building and construction sector; has once again been emphasised.

Speaking at the just concluded international exhibition on building, machinery and construction in Lagos, the Managing Director of Atlantic Exhibition, organisers of the event, Mr. Paul Ayodeji Olugbade stated that the benefit of strong infrastructure base to the Nigerian development cannot be over-emphasised, pointing out that infrastructure development is the bedrock of all developments in a country.

According to Olugbade, infrastructure may not be a factor of production, but it is a condition for higher rates of economic growth, adding that infrastructure is the backbone of any economy as no economy can develop in the absence of reasonable stock of critical infrastructure in such areas as transportation such as roads, railways, ports and airports, energy, water, sanitation and communication.

“The rural poor cannot make the best use of their resources, including human capital, if either the quality of some key parts of the country’s physical infrastructure like irrigation, transport, and communications and support services such as research and extension are inadequate.

“According to the World Bank, 1 percent increase in a country’s infrastructure stock leads to 1 percent in the level of GDP. Indeed, the multiplier effect of infrastructure stock will be higher in countries that are starting from a low base. A study of 42 low and middle income countries has shown the connectivity of public infrastructure to differences in growth rates across the continent. The transformation of the telecommunication sector is telling case.

“The world Economic forum (WEF) is said to rank Nigeria 130th out of 144 countries on infrastructure in its 2013 global competitiveness index report.”