By Deji Elumoye and Chuks Okocha in Abuja
A total of 34 projects are to be financed with the $22.7 billion external loan approved thursday for the federal government by the Senate.
The loan would be sourced from eight external financiers including World Bank, African Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank, German Development Bank and China Eximbank.
According to the 55-page report of the Senator Clifford Ordia-led Senate committee on Foreign and Local Debts which considered President Muhammadu Buhari’s request for the $22.7 billion loan and was approved at plenary’s thursday by the upper chamber, the benefiting projects and the amount voted against them include $800 million for the completion of East-West road; $500 million for NTA Digitalisation; National Information and Communication Technology Infrastructure Backbone Project would gulp $328.1 million; $481.09 million for Greater Abuja Water Supply Project, while Phase Two of Abuja Mass Rail Transit Project is voted $1.252,293,005.
The projects are to be financed by China Eximbank.
Other projects to be financed by China Eximbank include Lagos-Kano Railway Modernisation $5,530,000,000; Railway Modernisation Coastal Railway Project (Calabar-Port Harcourt-Onne Deep Seaport segment – $3,474,000,000 and Mambila Hydro Electric Power Project – $4,800,000,000.
The $2.85 billion facility from the World Bank would be used to execute nine projects, including
Nigeria Electricity Transmission and Access Project – $364,000,000; Social Inclusion and Welfare Advancement project (Renamed National Social Safety Net Project) – $500,000,000; Economic Reforms and Governance Project 11(Renamed Fiscal Governance and Institutions Project (FGIP) – $200,000,000; Development of the Mining Industry – $150,000,000 and Education Sector Reform Programme (Renamed Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA) – $500,000,000.
Others are Development Finance Project co-financed by – (IDA-$500m, AFD-$130m, AFDB- $400m, ADF-$50, Kfw-$200m) – $500,000,000;
Kaduna State Development Policy (DPO)(Renamed Kaduna State Economic Transformation Programme-for-result) – $350,000,000; Rehabilitation and Reconstruction of Infrastructure, Livelihood, Food Security and Recovery (Renamed Multi-sectoral Crises Recovery)- $200,000,000 and Regional Disease Surveillance System Enhancement Project in West Africa – $90,000,000
Thisday