OpeOluwani Akintayo
Lagos — A loan of $984 million to Nigeria from Exim bank for the Zungeru power project is just a fraction of approximately $5.575bn (accumulated debts to China on a total of 11 ongoing projects across the country.
Signed by the Debt Management Office, DMO as at 18th of June 2020, and obtained by SweetcrudeReports, the document chronicles Nigeria’s journey into China’s debtors list-a foray of borrowing which began from 2010 until 2018, and stretching through a maturity date of 2038.
Although the Zungeru hydroelectric power project dam would cost Nigeria a total of $1.5 billion, however; the sum of $984 million has been provided by EXIM bank in September 2013 with a maturity date of 2033, while the rest of the fund is expected to be provided by the Nigerian government.
The $984 million Zungeru plant loan comes with a 2.50 percent interest spread over a grace period of 7 years.
According to the document, already, the sum of $518 million representing 52 percent has been disbursed, leaving an outstanding balance.
Ten other projects on the list include: the Nigerian National Public Security Communication System Project, $399.50 million, Nigerian Railway Modernization Project (Idu-Kaduna section), $500 million, Abuja Light Rail Project, $500 million, Nigerian ICT Infrastructure Backbone Project, $100 million, Nigerian Four Airport Terminal Expansion Project (Abuja, Kano, Lagos & Port Harcourt), $500 million, and the Nigerian 40 parboiled Rice Processing Plants Project under the Federal Ministry of Agric & Rural Development, $325.67 million
Others are the Nigerian Railway Modernization Project (Lagos-Ibadan section), $1,267 million, Nigeria Rehabilitation and Upgrading of Abuja-Keffi Markurdi Road Project, $460.82 million, Nigeria Supply of Rolling Stocks and Depot Equipment for Abuja Light Rail Project, $157 million, and the Nigeria Greater Abuja Water Supply Project, $$381 million.
All the loans signed between 2010 and 2018 have a tenor of 20 years, with an interest rate of 2.50 percent and a grace period of 7 years each.
The 700 megawatts Zungeru hydroelectric power plant is the second biggest hydroelectric dams in Nigeria after the Kainji Dam.
Construction started in 2013 and has recorded 68 percent completion as of last year.
Located at the upper and middle links of Kaduna River in Niger State, Engineer Babatunde Adewunmi, the Deputy Project Manager for the joint venture transmission said the energy that could come from the project is over 2600GW hour upon completion.
Scheduled for completion in December 2021, with the first unit expected to start power generation to the national grid in December 2020, the plant is constructed with the Roller Compacted Concrete, RCC technology, and is expected to last for about 100 years.
