Nigeria’s Ministry of Transportation has inaugurated a Project Implementation Committee for the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) project to establish the Smart National Transport Databank (SNTDB), a digital transport intelligence platform designed to provide a centralised, interoperable and real-time transport data system for Nigeria.
The initiative, spearheaded by the Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology (NITT), follows the recent approval of the project by the Federal Executive Council.
The Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Transportation, Funsho Adebiyi, inaugurated the committee on Tuesday in Abuja at the Ministry’s Conference Room.
Speaking at the inaugural meeting, Adebiyi said the initiative was aimed at addressing longstanding gaps in transport data collection, coordination and accessibility, while strengthening evidence-based planning and investment across the sector.
The Permanent Secretary recalled that the SNTDB was approved at the 12th National Council on Transportation in 2012, with NITT mandated to establish the databank under the supervision of the Ministry.
He disclosed that the project had received Federal Executive Council approval for implementation under a 20-year Design-Build-Finance-Operate-Transfer (DBFOT) PPP concession to Asia-Arab Investment Nigeria Limited.
The newly inaugurated committee, chaired by the Permanent Secretary, comprises representatives of the Federal Ministry of Transportation, NITT, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Federal Ministry of Works, Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) and the concessionaire, among others.
The committee is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the project in line with the Concession Agreement, approved Full Business Case and applicable laws.
Its mandate also includes monitoring project milestones and performance, coordinating participating Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), managing implementation challenges and risks, ensuring financial and governance accountability, and submitting periodic progress reports.
In a project briefing, the Director General/Chief Executive of NITT, Dr. Bayero Salih Farah, FCILT, described the SNTDB as a national transport intelligence infrastructure designed to support planning, regulation, safety, security, infrastructure development and evidence-based decision-making.
He said key components of the project would include at least 250 solar-powered intelligent gantries equipped with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technologies.
Other components include Traffic Management Centres across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, a Main Data Centre, an Electronic Tagging (E-Tag) ecosystem, database integration, real-time analytics and cybersecurity systems.
According to him, the components will be implemented in phases as part of efforts to establish an integrated national transport intelligence system.
The Ministry reaffirmed its commitment to providing the policy and institutional leadership required for the successful delivery of the project, while NITT will oversee contract management and safeguard the interests of the Federal Government.
The Federal Ministry of Transportation said it remained committed to delivering a functional, secure and nationally integrated transport intelligence system capable of providing measurable value to government, transport operators and the Nigerian public.
