FEC approves $3.5bn World Bank loan for power, states projects

The federal executive council (FEC) on Monday approved the sum of $3.45 billion in loans for the execution of five projects.

Speaking at the end of the council meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu, minister of finance, and coordinating minister of the economy, Wale Edun, said the approved projects were conditioned in the five memos he presented.

Edun said the memos approved include concessional loans with zero-interest financing by the World Bank and the International Development Association (IDA) the concessional financing arm of the bank.

He said the projects approved for funding were in the power and renewable energy sectors.

The minister added that the approved funding for states for resource mobilisation programmes to help them with the internally-generated revenue efforts.

“The council also approved a project for adolescent girls’ initiative for learning and empowerment,” Edun said.

“It’s a programme to support young girls from the age of 11, secondary school age, and to ensure that at the end of the schooling, they have one skill or the other that is marketable, as well as the academic laurels.”

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He said the fifth financing that the council approved is for the women’s project.

“This is an additional project. The first one was very successful. It was all about empowering women, upscaling their skill levels, and of course, giving them some financial inclusion, including in the banking system,” he added.

“So those were five loans totalling N3.45billion. And as you know, the tenure is all around 40 years, moratorium period of around 10 years and interest very low, or in the cases of either loans, zero interest, although some fees would be incurred.”

Last week, FEC approved a $1.58 billion loan request.

The loan request is split into two; $1.5 billion from the World Bank and $80 million from the African Development Bank (AfDB).