The World Bank has agreed to give Nigeria $3 billion loan for the expansion of the transmission and distribution facilities of the power sector, Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, has revealed.
According to her, the loan would be disbursed in four trenches of $750m each beginning from next year and it would cover the funding gap as well as the current tariff which investors in the sector had described as very low compared to what is obtainable in other countries.
“It will also enhance our ability to pay previous obligations in the sector that has crystallized so that investors in the sector can go on with expanding investments int he sector,” she added.
She noted that some portion of the loan will be for the transmission network, adding that if the government can expand the facility to $4bn, then the additional $1bn will be used for the distribution network.
“The distribution sector will be at the back end when the other reforms have been carried out. It will be a loan to the distribution companies because they are owned by the private sector,” she concluded.
Hot Gist
- “The precise mechanism of action in chloroquine is poorly understood”, Pharmacist Iniobong Usen
- “People still find it absurd to pay to get their space cleaned in this part of the world”, Linda Onah, CEO Sparkle Concierge
- Sunday Reflections
- Catherine M. O’Meara’s Optimism in Crisis, and Comparison between the 1918 and 2019 Pandemics