AfDB to fund Nigeria’s power projects with N470bn

The African Development Bank will support power projects in Nigeria with a sum of $1.338 billion. The bank will also train 300 engineers of the Transmission Company of Nigeria through a programme with the National Power Training Institute of Nigeria. A statement from the Presidency quoted the AfDB Vice President for Power, Energy, Climate Change […]

The African Development Bank will support power projects in Nigeria with a sum of $1.338 billion.

The bank will also train 300 engineers of the Transmission Company of Nigeria through a programme with the National Power Training Institute of Nigeria.

A statement from the Presidency quoted the AfDB Vice President for Power, Energy, Climate Change and Green Growth Complex, Mr. Amadou Hott, as disclosing this yesterday at the State House in Abuja at a meeting with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

According to a statement from Osinbajo’s spokesman, Laolu Akande, Hott said the bank had a programme to support solar power project in the country with $477m and another $150m for other projects.

The AfDB scribe said: “We are on the verge of approving grant money of $1.5m to support the Jigawa solar project, a new initiative of up to 1,000 MW; the first phase will be 100MW.

“We have agreed to support the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) with a total of $410m for critical transmission project, which was initially $200m. We are expecting to have this approval by September depending on the studies and other work that needs to be done.”

Hott said the AfDB planned to provide $300m to support the federal government’s power sector recovery programme and its planned investment in power distribution companies in order to enable them to unlock 2,000 megawatts of stranded power.

Osinbajo said the present administration would implement a plan that would provide solar energy in a number of universities in the country.

He said there were ongoing efforts towards improving power supply nationwide the Energising Education Programme “which is a key component of its Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) and Power Sector Reform Programme (PSRP).

“The project, which is being carried out through the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), is expected to power Federal Universities and Teaching Hospitals with Solar energy. The first phase of the project will include nine federal universities and one teaching hospital.”

The vice president said the project  would improve general satisfaction and create an atmosphere where academic activities could thrive and go undisturbed.

He said though the federal government had made budgetary allocation for the project in some of the federal universities, the support of the AfDB would also be welcomed.