Tenth International Conference on The Constructed Environment

Abstract

One of the major problems facing African cites is shortage or poor quality of urban infrastructure and services like potable water, electricity, and solid waste disposal. The problem has been exacerbated by the massive population growth without commensurate planning response in the provision and maintenance of these infrastructure leading to inefficiency unlivable cities. The traditional approach to infrastructure provision in Nigeria has been the government, yet it is now becoming clear that government alone may not possess adequate finance, personnel, and right disposition to provide these services efficiently. The other alternative is the private sector. This paper explores the roles of the private sector in infrastructure provision, finance, and maintenance in Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria. Some twenty enterprises in waste management, potable water supply and other services were sampled, interviewed, and assessed using some evaluation methods. Results were compared with public infrastructure providers and managers. Initial results show that the private infrastructure providers tend to be more efficient in adopting market driven approach to management, sourcing of finance, quick response to faults, and use of latest technology.