AN EVALUATION OF THE IMPACT OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT IN PROJECT FINANCING IN NIGERIA

The availability of adequate infrastructure facilities is imperative for the overall economic development of any country. However, developing countries like Nigeria are particularly bedeviled by issues of adequate infrastructure financing and this has great consequences on its citizenry. The aim of this study is to evaluate infrastructure financing strategies and its effect on urban development in Nigeria with a view to providing information that will guide policy makers in the country particularly and similar developing economies in general in making informed decisions on their infrastructure investment strategies. The theoretical research approach was adopted for this study. The study revealed that inadequate investment in basic infrastructure (due to severe budget constraints) and the rapid rate of urbanization in Nigeria is putting considerable strain on the nations limited infrastructure. Hence, there is a need for large and continuing amounts of investments in almost all areas of infrastructure in Nigeria. Similarly, investment in maintaining existing infrastructure has suffered gross neglect, leaving the country with degraded and inefficient infrastructure services; this is compounded by unprecedented urban growth in major urban centers such as Lagos, Abuja and Port-Harcourt. This has resulted into the explosion of informal settlements (slums) in and around these major cities.