FG approves $750m World Bank loan for rural electrification

The Federal Government has approved a $750m World Bank funding for the construction of 1,200 mini-grids in rural communities across Nigeria.

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Rural Electrification Agency, Abba Aliyu, disclosed this Tuesday, May 21, at a forum in Lagos.

According to Aliyu, the loan was approved to close the gap between Nigerians who have electricity and those without electricity.

He added that 23 per cent of the 85 million unelectrified Nigerians will be provided with electricity when the project is completed.

“The Federal Government, under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu approved the Biggest public sector-funded off-grid project across the entire world.

It is a $750m project where REA will use that funding as a capital subsidy to incentivise the private sector to electrify 23 per cent of the total unelectrified Nigerians, and we are very clear about how we want to achieve that.

We want to provide three million Nigerians with electricity access using isolated mini-grids; million Nigerians with electricity through interconnected mini-grids and and also about 15.5 million Nigerians with solar system mesh-grids.

We also intend to use that funding to capitalise private sector funding to provide over 40,000 farmers with productive use of equipment to enhance their productivity,” he said.