Nigeria: Govt Secures $3bn World Bank Loan for Power Sector - Minister

The Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, has revealed that the Federal Government has successfully secured the loan of $3 billion for the power sector.

Ahmed, disclosed this while addressing the press on the outcome of the just-concluded annual meeting of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

She said the loan will be disbursed in four tranches and the first tranche will be disbursed in Apr 2020.

Ahmed disclosed that $1 bn will be allocated to the Distribution network and part of it will be used to close the gap between current tariff and actually tariff charged by the Discos, adding that this will lead to the elimination of subsidy in the power sector.

She said part of the loan will also be used to settle previous obligations which have crystallised.

Ahmed added that $1bn to be allocated to the distribution network will come last and it will be a loan to the Discos. She said the first $3bn will be used to upgrade the transmission network and implement necessary reforms in the sector