12 January 2012, Sweetcrude, Abuja – The Nigerian government is set to secure a $160million loan from the Africa Development Bank, AfDB, to support power transmission, according to Minister of State for Power, Hajiya Zainab Ibrahim Kuchi.
The minister, who announced this, said the government was sourcing funds for its power transmission projects outside the budget, to boost electricity supply.
Last year, the Federal Government secured $309 million from the Exim Bank of China to fund 75 per cent of 700mega watts -Zungeru Hydroelectric power project contract, which is being implemented by a Chinese consortium, CNEEC-Sino Hydro.
Mrs Kuchi said: “The source of the funding is from an arrangement with Exim Bank of China for the 75 per cent of the cost while counterpart funding balance of $309 million is currently available with the ministry.”
The minister, however, added that since the project would be implemented through counterpart funding, the Federal Government would provide the 25per cent balance.
Similarly, the United States’Exim Bank had last year pledged to provide a credit facility of $5billion for investors in the Nigerian power sector.
But while announcing the government’s plans to scale up power generation and transmission in the country in her presentation to the Presidential Action Committee on Power, which was released to reporters in Abuja yesterday, Mrs Kuchi noted that the 239kilometres of 330KV transmission line, which has been completed, is ready for inuguration.
