The African Development Bank’s (AfDB’s) board of directors has approved a $150-million sovereign loan to the Nigerian government to finance the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP).
The financing will support rural electrification efforts in Nigeria by facilitating private-sector development and the roll-out of off-grid solutions, as well as the installation of dedicated power systems for federal universities.
The Africa Growing Together Fund (AGTF) has also approved a $50-million loan to the Nigerian government to cofinance the NEP.
The joint financing from the AfDB and the AGTF will support the Nigerian government’s efforts to deal with a critical energy access deficit in the country and catalyse thr achievement of universal energy access by 2030.
The NEP, which will be implemented by the Rural Electrification Agency, presents an innovative approach to addressing the energy access deficit by channelling private-sector investments into commercially viable minigrid and off-grid solutions, the AfDB says.
AfDB VP for power, energy, climate change and green growth Amadou Hott welcomed the board’s approval of the NEP, stating that it underscored the importance of projects that leveraged private-sector investment into energy access solutions.
“Given the limited amount of public financing available, projects that catalyse private-sector investment are critical to enabling the bank and its regional member countries to meet their shared objective of electrifying the continent within the next decade.”
AfDB Nigeria country office director Ebrima Faal celebrated the approval in light of recent reforms undertaken by the Nigerian government to facilitate private-sector development of the off-grid sector.