Nigeria to expand transmission, distribution networks with $3bn World Bank loan
Nigeria has applied for a $3 billion loan from the World Bank for the expansion of transmission and distribution networks, Hajiya Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, budget and national planning, said.
The country is set to get the approval of the first tranche of the $3 billion loan by April 2020.
“The $3 billion that we are trying to raise from the World Bank is for financing the power sector. This financing will include right now, the gap between what is provided for in the current tariff and the cost of the businesses themselves. So, there is a tariff shortfall but it would also enhance our ability to pay the previous obligations that have crystallised that we have not yet been able to pay," she said.
Some portion of the funds will be used for the transmission network and "if we are able to expand the facility to $4 billion, the additional $1 billion is for the distribution network", Ahmed said.
