Nigerian Govt reveals why it’s seeking fresh $2.5bn World Bank loan

The National Sovereign Wealth Investment Authority, or NSWIA, currently holds the N50 billion Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund, or PIDF, which the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu, claims will be used in part to support the proposed 2024 supplemental budget.

However, according to Bagudu, the N50 billion was insufficient to finance the “Renewed Hope Transformational Projects,” which is why the Federal Government is applying to the World Bank for a $2.5 billion loan.

He revealed this information while presenting the proposed Supplementary Appropriations Bill before the joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives committees on National Planning and Economic Affairs.

He disclosed that the World Bank management would meet shortly to determine whether to approve the loan.

He said all of the additional funding, which was still being developed, would go towards the four transformational initiatives that had been identified.

The Sokoto-Badagry Road, the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road, the completion of ongoing railway projects for which the Federal Government has not yet provided corresponding funding, and the renovation and expansion of dams and irrigation schemes to increase agricultural production are among the projects, according to the minister.

Bagudu added that the budget would include more money for LNG and compressed natural gas (CNG) projects to increase energy competitiveness.

Given the high processing costs, Senate Committee Chairman Senator Yahaya Abdullahi pointed out that it could be more cost-effective to revise the 2024 budget than to prepare a new appropriations bill.

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