Officials of the Federal Ministry of Water Resources on Thursday met with the organised private sector on in Lagos.
According to the ministry, the meeting was convened to seek ways to secure partnerships that would lead to improvement of water supply and sanitation delivery across Nigeria.
The ministry’s ambitious project, Partnership for Expanded Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (PEWASH), is expected to cost a total investment of N510bn between the year 2016 and 2030.
The cost of operating and maintaining the investments in water and public toilets, including the software components, was also estimated at N327.5bn.
The Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, said the government alone cannot fund the initiative and solicited the support of the private sector in the building of commercial toilets, water system, and other sanitation facilities.
Mr Adamu said Nigeria needs to invest about 1.7% of its current Gross Domestic Product or $8bn per year, in order to compensate for past under-investment.
