Nigerian Government Invites Investor Bids for Lagos Properties

(Bloomberg) -- The Nigerian government invited investor bids for concessions at two state-owned properties in the commercial capital of Lagos.

The state will hand Tafawa Balewa Square and the Lagos International Trade Fair Complex to preferred concessionaires to “regenerate and reinvigorate” them into viable projects, Bureau of Public Enterprises Director-General Alex Okoh told investors in a virtual meeting on Tuesday.

The government is offering the assets as part of its effort to raise 205.2 billion naira ($510 million) this year to help fund the annual budget. Over the past decade, the state has privatized or concessioned public assets including electricity, transport and fertilizer utilities in a bid to improve their efficiency and boost revenue.

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The government isn’t putting a price on the assets as it expects bidders to send quotes based on their assessments of the investments, Arif Mohiuddin, the transaction adviser, said at Tuesday’s event.

The Lagos state government will hold 24% of the equity of a special purpose vehicle that will house the Tafawa Balewa Square concession, according to Okoh. He didn’t provide further details about the trade fair complex.

The two assets are being offered to investors for a second time after previous investors breached the terms of a contract awarded in 2008, prompting the government to terminate the deal, Okoh said.

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